IPL franchises will be able to retain a maximum of five players through a combination of pre-auction retention and Right To Match (RTM) cards, the governing council of the tournament chaired by Rajiv Shukla resolved on Wednesday (December 6).
The five players secured can include any combination of retention and right-to-match cards with not more than three through either category, that means a franchise not opting to directly retain any player will still be allowed only a maximum of three RTMs at the player auction.
What is a pre-auction retention?
Under pre-auction retention, a franchise can retain a maximum of three players from their previous squad and those names won’t be a part of the IPL auction.
The cost of the players who are retained through pre-audition retentions are as follows:
If the franchise retains three players: The cost of the players will be 15, 11 and 7 crores INR respectively. The money will be deducted from their auction purse.
If the franchise retains two players: The cost of the players will be 12.5 and 8.5 crores INR respectively. The money will be deducted from their auction purse.
If the franchise retains one player: The cost of the player will be 12.5 crores INR. The money will be deducted from their auction purse.
If the franchises retain any uncapped player, they will be deducted just 3 Crores INR per player from their auction purse instead of the above-mentioned price.
How does the retention/RTM work?
Any franchise can use these options to hold onto five of their players. This is how it works:
An IPL Franchise is eligible to secure up to 5 players by virtue of a combination of Player Retention (Pre Player Auction) and Right to Match (RTM) (during the Player Auction).
A maximum of either 3 retentions or 3 RTM at the discretion of the franchises. If there is no retention before the player auction, then franchises can have up to 3 RTMs. If a franchise uses three retentions (pre-auction), then they will have two RTM during the auction.
The breakup of the five players retained will have to adhere to the following criterion:
- Maximum number of 3 Capped Indian players
- Maximum number of 2 Overseas players
- Maximum number of 2 Uncapped Indian players
What is the Right To Match card?
The Right To Match can also be called as the right to first choice.
For example: If Virat Kohli goes back into the auction and is bid for a certain amount by a franchise, then RCB can still get him back using the RTM card by matching the successful bid in the auction.
