IPL franchises are seeking changes in player retention ahead of the 2025 auction

It only holds a big auction once every five years. Allow teams to keep between four and six players. Give each franchise eight right-to-match (RTM) options. These are some of the important suggestions that the franchises shared with the IPL officials during the feedback regarding player retention ahead of the 2025 auction. The next steps will be discussed when the IPL officials meet the management, possibly from next week although the date is yet to be finalised.

According to a senior executive at the franchise, there is more than one benefit to having a major auction every five years instead of the current three-year cycle. A long gap between big auctions can help his teams continue to develop young players, especially the undrafted Indians. Franchises that have been around since the first season of the IPL in 2008 have invested heavily in this area, building academies to find talented players at the grassroots level and develop them into international quality. A big auction every five years would encourage teams to continue doing this, and in the three-year cycle there is a risk of losing a player he developed to a rival franchise.

After all, the IPL has had four-year cycles between major auctions twice in the last decade. The first was in 2018, which was the first major auction since 2014, when Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals returned after a two-year hiatus. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the 2021 mega auction to be postponed by a year. In both cases the franchises extended their player contracts annually.

As part of the same proposal, the franchise executive said teams would no longer be allowed to deal directly with their players to negotiate salaries between major auctions. This will help teams to not only retain key players but also help them achieve better goals with players bought at lower or lower prices in previous auctions. Although the talks will be transparent and the new contract announced in the IPL, the official wanted the franchise to have control over the continuation without the player having the option of release.

RTM option

The CEO of one franchise said that teams would be allowed to keep one key player, perhaps the captain, while the rest could be RTMs. Such an approach would allow the market to determine a player’s value, and remove any financial disappointment a player may experience if they end up following a retention plan.

What about a combination of keeping players and RTMs? It was the method used in the 2018 auction, where five players could be retained by each team. Of these five, a maximum of three players can be retained prior to the auction, and up to three can also be purchased by the team through RTM options during the auction. If the franchise didn’t retain any players before the auction, they would still only have three RTM picks in the auction. The RTM option gives the franchise the ability to buy back their player during the auction by matching the price once the player’s bidding has ended.

While such a combination is favored by other franchises, at least one team official said it could cause discontent among players retained before the auction, if those purchased through the RTM option happened to receive higher bids. In the 2022 auction, when Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants enter the IPL, the other eight teams are allowed to keep four players in two different combinations: three Indians and one overseas, or two Indians and two overseas. RTM options did not exist three years ago because the IPL wanted the Titans and Super Giants to have a larger pool of players to choose from.

A challenge for all groups

Several players, especially those who were uncapped and bought at low prices, have gone on to play in India or have grown into match winners since the previous auction. They may want to go back to the auction instead of being held for a higher price. While that may seem fair to the player, it may not be fair to the franchise, especially one that saw and developed the player.

A possible solution, suggested by one franchise in the IPL, is to have eight RTM options and no retention. The idea has received a mixed response from other franchises: some agree that it creates more equal play, others do not want to put their main players in the auction. There are also concerns that rival groups will raise prices to disrupt the auction strategy.

One of the key points, something franchises have emphasized over the years, is building a loyal fan base. There’s a word for that in sports: racism. But how can a franchise achieve this if, even after 17 years, it is asked to reshuffle its teams every three years? This is the question asked by several senior officials who have been part of the IPL for 15 years and more. Officials agree that the IPL needs to find a way to retain players for longer to cultivate better fan engagement. The official who favors big auctions every five years said it’s time for teams to stop thinking about themselves and look at the big picture.

In the upcoming meeting between the IPL and the franchises, the team officials expect that all the ideas will be discussed in detail. They are also likely to discuss the Impact Player rule, which has received mixed reactions from teams, the 2025 auction fund, and the deduction of the salary cap for held players.