What is the Right to Match option in the IPL auction?
The conditions for the Auction for the upcoming 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) were set after the IPL GC meeting held on Saturday, September 28, concluded. An eight-point player regulation media release was published on the IPL website soon after.
The first of the eight points in the Media Advisory states:
"The IPL franchises can retain a total of 6 players from their existing squad. This can be either via retention or by using the Right to Match (RTM) option."
This means that IPL teams can opt for a maximum number of six retentions, with five of them being directly appointed and one via the RTM (Right to Match card).
A RTM (Right to Match Card) is a tool that is provided to the franchises along with the auction paddle at the table. This card allows the franchise to exercise its extra retention spot and acquire the player at the price the other team has bid by matching it. This option was last used in the player auction preceding the 2018 IPL.
To understand how this works, we can take the example of Krunal Pandya. Pandya was released by Mumbai Indians back in 2018 and entered the auction pool as an uncapped player with a base price of ₹40 Lakhs. A three-way bidding war ensued between Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals (RR), and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who acquired the player at a price of ₹8.8 crores.
Mumbai Indians were asked whether they would like to retain the player and they did, raising the RTM card and notifying the auctioneer. With enough purse remaining, they matched RCB's bid and brought their player back home.
This year sees the return of RTMs, which weren't used in the 2022 IPL Mega Auction.
Overseas players are to be penalised if they do not participate in the IPL after being acquired in the auction
The eight-point press release also states strict measures to ensure that overseas players don't turn away from their commitments after being acquired at the auction. Should they do so, a two-year ban will be levied on them and the player will be ineligible for the succeeding auctions.
The dates for the auction are yet to be decided, with a tentative window from the end of November to the second week of December being finalised. Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Muscat are the favorite venues for hosting the auction.