The thrilling mega auction for the 18th edition of The Indian Premier League (IPL) just concluded with few players being sold for record breaking figures, while some just sat on the bench. Lucknow Super Giants bought the flamboyant lefthand wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant for Rs. 27 Crore. and Mumbai boy Shreyas Iyer was grabbed by Punjab Kings for 26.75 crore.
In the mega auction, 10 franchises spent a total of 639.15 crore on 182 players, which reiterates how the league has evolved financially.
Rishabh Pant |
RTM
This year’s auction among other things gave the bidder the RTM card (Right to Match) option. Which means a franchise got the chance to buy back a player by matching the highest bid made for the player by another franchise once the bidding was over. It was previously used in the 2017 mega auction but was discarded ahead of the 2022 mega auction.
To advance the cause of the players, the IPL has modified the rule. It now reads as ‘The highest bidder will be given one final opportunity to raise their bid for a player before the team holding the RTM card can exercise their right.’
Despite such mega deals and RTM, nobody retained or bought the stars of yesteryears — Shardul Thakur and Prithvi Shaw. While some credit this to their indiscipline, some say it was their performance. “Prithvi, Shardul getting unsold is reality check for many players!” says Lalchand Rajput, former Indian batter. “They should not take their talent for granted. There is no substitute for hardwork. These are big names in domestic cricket. But they are struggling hard now.”
Shreyas Iyer |
Money mantra
Each franchise has a total purse of 120 crore, from which they deduct the amount they spend on retaining players. The remaining amount is available for the franchise to spend on players at the auction. Previously in 2024, the total salary cap was Rs. 110 crore. In case a franchise wants to retain five capped players, the following amounts will be deducted from the purse. For the first three retention: INR 18 crore, INR 14 crore, and INR 11 crore. For the next two: INR 18 crore and INR 14 crore.
Rules
Along with the RTM that enabled a few franchises to buy back their own players, a few other rules have been changed as well.
Till IPL 2024, franchises had to seek a replacement for an injured player before their seventh match of the season. From IPL 2025, teams can seek replacements till up to the 12th match in the league phase.
Also, a match fee has been introduced for the first time in the history of IPL. Each Playing member (Including the Impact Player) will get a match fee of INR 7.5 Lakhs per match. This will be in addition to his contracted amount.
“This fee might prove to be a key player in 2025 tourney,” observes one of the KKR coaches.
“Upcoming IPL will be fun and I’m eagerly waiting for it,” concludes Lalchand Rajput.
