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The Indian Premier League (IPL) has set October 31, 2024, as the deadline for all ten franchises to finalize their player retentions for the 2025 season. This crucial step precedes the mega auction, where teams will compete for the remaining players to assemble their squads for the upcoming season. The BCCI, in a meeting of the IPL Governing Council in Bengaluru, announced the rules for retentions and Right-To-Match (RTM) options, allowing teams to retain up to six players from their 2024 roster.
The retention rules stipulate a maximum of five capped players (both Indian and overseas) and two uncapped Indian players. This gives franchises flexibility in their roster composition, balancing established talent with potential rising stars. The IPL release emphasizes that the choice of combination for retentions and RTMs is solely at the discretion of each franchise. This strategic decision will significantly impact the team's performance in the upcoming season.
Adding a twist to the retention process, the BCCI announced that players making their international debut before October 31 will be considered capped. However, if a player is retained as an uncapped player but later makes his international debut before the IPL deadline, they will remain uncapped and the team will only lose INR 4 crore from their purse. This rule provides an opportunity for franchises to retain promising young talents who might make their international breakthrough during the retention period.
To further enhance the competition and provide opportunities for young players, the IPL reintroduced the 'uncapped player' rule. This rule, previously discarded in 2021, allows a capped Indian player to become an uncapped player if they haven't been part of the starting XI in international cricket (Test match, ODI, Twenty20 International) or haven't had a Central Contract with BCCI in the past five calendar years. This rule will allow Chennai Super Kings to retain their former captain, MS Dhoni, who last played an international game in 2019, as an uncapped player.
The BCCI also announced a significant increase in the overall purse for all teams, raising it to INR 120 crore for the auction. This increased purse will empower franchises to secure the services of top players and strengthen their squads, promising a more competitive and exciting season of IPL cricket. The mega auction will be a spectacle for fans, as franchises fight to build the best teams, and the player retentions will be a crucial factor in shaping the landscape of the upcoming IPL season.
Source: IPL franchises to take final call on retentions by October 31