IPL 2025 Auction: R Ashwin Labels Right to Match (RTM) as 'Most Unfair' Rule

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Senior Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has criticized the Right To Match option in the Indian Premier League auction as the RTM cards look set to return for the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, which is expected to be held later this year.

Earlier this month, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organised a "constructive dialogue" with the owners of the ten league franchises on various subjects before formulating the IPL player regulations ahead of the next season.

There were reportedly varying opinions on the player retentions and also the mega auction on the whole as some franchises wanted the latter to be scrapped. Some of the franchises prefer a bigger retention than the allowed four, which some want to remain the same.

Before the meeting, ESPNcricinfo reported that the significant points of discussion: Having mega auction every five years instead of three, the way it is right now, reinstating the right-to-match (RTM) card option at auctions, availability/shortage of overseas players and a limit on total number of retentions.

What is Right to Match (RTM) rule in IPL Auction?

RTM is a rule through which teams can automatically get the player which represented them in the previous season if they match the highest bid placed by a franchise.

Teams used this rule in the past to get some valuable players, but in the 2021 mega auction, it was removed in order to give the then-new franchises, Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) a wider pool of players to choose from.

As the rule could make a return for the mega auction later this year, Ashwin was not happy with RTM, which he feels is unfair for the player and also teams other than the said player's team in the previous season.

"There is no rule more unfair for a player than RTM. Because how has the RTM rule been so far? For example, there is a player called X. He is on a team called, let us say, Sunrisers. His current value is around Rs five-six crores. He has gone into the auction.

"Now say Sunrisers want to buy the player back. So, the Sunrisers will bid for the player at a base price of 2 crore. Then, let us say, KKR and the Mumbai Indians are bidding for the player.

"The bid goes up to 6 crores and finally, they say, 'The player is sold to the Mumbai Indians for 6 crores.' So, with RTM, the Sunrisers will then bid for and take the player at 6 crores.

"The problem here is that Sunrisers are happy. But KKR and MI are unhappy. The only person (party) happy is Sunrisers. Because, in the beginning, they gave attendance bid at base price," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

"After that, there is no fair value at all. There is a bidder. The KKR and Mumbai Indians are fighting. For one of those teams, it has gone up to six crores. What does SRH say? 'You bought the player, right? Return the player back."

"Very unfair. Because, at this time, SRH has to bid Rs 6.20 crores, the other team Rs 6.40 crores and they should reach the fair value of the player. The problem with RTM is that it is not fair value for the player. So, if you give three RTMs [to each team], the players will only go virtually empty-handed. Already, they do not get fair value in the auction," he concluded.