The Indian Premier League Governing Council on Saturday (September 28) announced the player regulations for 2025-27 cycle, including the much-awaited rules for retentions among many other guidelines.
As per the IPL announcement, teams can retain a total of 6 players from their 2024 season squad. This can be either via retention or by using the Right to Match (RTM) option, meaning teams can also opt to release all their players and use the RTM at the IPL mega auction.

The reteniton, however, limits the capped player to a maximum of 5 capped (either Indian or overseas), and a maximum of 2 uncapped players. The uncapped rule also has a new twist with an rule returning after three years.
As per re-instated uncapped rule, a capped Indian player will become uncapped, if the player has in the last five calendar years not played in International Cricket or does not have a Central Contract with BCCI. This rule existed from 2008 to 2021 before being scrapped.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru may opt to retain three players and use three RTM cards at the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, scheduled to be held later this year either in November or December. The deadline for teams to announce their retentions is on October 31, 2024.
RCB have been part of IPL since it's inception in 2008, and have also been part of the retention process ahead of every mega auciton so far in IPL history. The Bengaluru-based outfit have never retained more than three players. So, that trend may continue even this year.
A mega auction has been held in 2011, 2014, 2018 and most recently in 2022, editions in which teams have gone through big changes. Here is a look at list of players who RCB retained ahead of those mega auctions.
The Bengaluru-based franchise opted for complete revamp as they retained only one player ahead of the IPL 2011 season as they kept hold of a young Virat Kohli for $1,800,000.
In 2014, RCB opted for the big three as their retentions in the form of Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. While Kohli was retained for Rs 12.50 Crore, Gayle and De Villiers were retained for Rs 9.50 Crore and Rs 7.50 Crore respectively. They also used RTM to buy back Harshal Patel at Rs 40 Lakhs.
In 2018, once again Kohli headlined the list after being retained for Rs 17 Crore. De Villiers also was retained for Rs 11 Crore, while in a surprise move Sarfaraz Khan was retained for Rs 1.75 Crore, but Rs 3 Crore was deducted from RCB's purse. They also used the RTM card to buy back Yuzvendra Chahal for Rs 6 Crore as well as Pawan Negi for Rs 1 Crore.
In 2022 when two new teams joined the league, Royal Challengers Bangalore opted to retain Kohli for the highest slab of Rs 16 Crore, and Glenn Maxwell at the second highest slab of Rs 11 Crore as well as Mohammed Siraj for Rs 7 Crore.