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The mega auction for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is around the corner and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the rules of retention late on Saturday, September 28.

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Following the speculations around how many players a team will be allowed to retain, what will be the purse, and how many uncapped players will be allowed to be retained, among other topics, BCCI finally announced the rules on Saturday. 

One of the most interesting bits from the rules is the new RTM rule. Here's all you need to know about the IPL 2025 Right To Match (RTM) rule.

Read More: IPL 2025 retentions and auction rules: How many Indian and overseas players can each franchise retain?

What is the Right To Match (RTM) rule?

The RTM rule which has made a return to the auction dynamics for the 2025 mega-auction is aimed at helping teams keep their key players (who were not retained) from the previous season.

The RTM card will help the franchises to retain the players from their 2024 squad (who were not initially retained) at a price for which a new franchise buys them i.e., they will have the first right to retain the players using this at the same price at which anyone else buys them.

How does the RTM rule work for IPL 2025 mega auction?

Let's consider an example to understand how teams can use RTM rule.

Say Chennai Super Kings lets Shivam Dube go into the auction without a direct retention. And suppose Rajasthan Royals places the highest bid on for about INR 6 crores, then CSK will have the option to play the RTM card and match RR's bid for Dube. 

If this happens, RR will have another chance to improve their bid. Say RR improves the bid to INR 8 crores, then CSK can decide to get Dube back into their squad for that amount (INR 8 crores) or let him go to RR.

How many RTM cards can a team use in IPL 2025 mega auction?

The number of RTMs a team will have can be anywhere between 0-6, depending upon the number of players a team decides to retain directly.

So, if a team retains six players (5 capped + 1 uncapped), they will not have any RTM cards. If a team retains only four players, they will have two RTM cards.

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Author(s)
Mayank Bande Photo

Mayank Bande is a content producer for The Sporting News’ India edition.