BCCI to Announce IPL 2025 Player Retention Rules by Month End: Report

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will announce the Indian Premier League (IPL) player retention rules by the end of August, according to a report in Cricbuzz. The report adds that BCCI is expected to allow six retentions, including the Right to Match (RTM) option for all the 10 teams and even though some franchises expressed their desire to do away with the ‘Mega Auction’, the Indian cricket board is not looking to change things at the moment.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a recent interview revealed that ‘continuity is important’.

“We’ve heard the views of all the franchises,” Jay Shah was quoted saying by TOI.

“For us a minority view is as important as the majority opinion. Ultimately the office-bearers (of the BCCI) will decide. Those who have a good side said there is no need for the big auction and those without a good side wanted the big auction. Continuity is important as shuffling, for the growth of the game,” he said.

Another major topic of discussion will be to increase the number of matches from 74 to 84 next season. With the expansion of IPL from eight to 10 teams, the number of matches haven’t risen proportionally (based on home and away format, ideally there should be 94 matches including the playoffs and the final).

However, given a packed international calendar, workload of players and limited window, it could become a challenge.

“Nothing is confirmed,” Shah said. “We will collectively decide. We’ve to factor in the workload of the players and the window also. It’s in the contract but it is up to the BCCI to decide.”

When asked about the impact player rule, Jay Shah said: “We had a long chat with the franchise owners in the recent meeting we had. The impact player rule has its pros and cons. The negative is that it makes the allrounder’s role redundant. The positive is it creates a spot for an Indian player to showcase his talent. We should also think about the broadcaster, who is paying a lot of money. But as an administrator for me, the game is bigger. We will decide in a few days.”