IPL 2025 mega auction to be held despite reservations from some teams, six retentions likely

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The BCCI is unlikely to do away with the IPL 2025 mega auction despite reservations from some franchises including Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Reports had emerged that there was a heated argument between KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan and Punjab Kings' (PBKS) Ness Wadia over the same during BCCI's meeting with IPL owners last month.

Quite a few franchises want no mega auction, and maximum number of player retention so that the core of their teams remain the same. They have argued that a lot of effort has gone in building the core, adding that the players also directly resonate with the brand image of the franchise because of their long associations.

A report in Cricbuzz on Friday (August 9) stated that BCCI is unlikely to do away with the mega auction. It added that the ten teams might get to retain six players each including the Right to Match (RTM) options.

In 2022, the BCCI had only allowed four retentions and disallowed the RTM provision. The option is set to make a comeback in the mega auction. It will allow the teams to automatically buy a player who represented them last season if they match the highest bid.

"We can use it as four retentions and two RTMS, or all six retentions, or all six RTMS and so on. The choice on whether a retention or RTM is used should be with the franchise based on discussions with the player," Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO Kavya Maran was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz earlier.

"There have been numerous instances in the past where a player has preferred to go to the auction when he has felt that the retention amount is on the lower side. There have also been instances where multiple players have felt that they should be the first retention, and if not retained as first, they have asked to be put in the auction instead.

"To avoid this, we can give the players the chance to either be retained or RTM at the market discovered price, ensuring that the player is not disgruntled about the retention price."

"If only retentions are allowed, there is a good possibility that franchises will pay their retained players more than the retention value through side contracts. But with RTMs, a player gets the market price in the auction within the restrictions of the purse and this will ensure that the purse decides and restricts the purchasing power of all franchises and not the bank balance of the franchise... It will also ensure transparency and maintain the integrity of a brand as prestigious as the IPL," she explained.