IPL Retention 2025: CSK can retain MS Dhoni for as low as Rs 4 crore before the October 31 deadline. (BCCI)
IPL 2025 Retention rules: The IPL 2025 Retentions are set to be unveiled on Thursday as the deadline closes at 5 PM IST on October 31.
With the IPL set to head into another mega-auction and a fresh three-year cycle, starting with the IPL 2025 season next year, the upcoming retentions will prove to be crucial for all 10 franchises in adopting new strategies for success.
Here is a breakdown of the number of retentions, their cost and the effect on the auction purse
Total purse
Each franchise will have a total of Rs 120 crore as the available purse for both retention and their mega auction purposes.
Six retentions at best
A team can, at best, retain six players by the end of the IPL 2025 Auctions. It can be achieved broadly by player retentions before the October 31 deadline or the use of Right-to-Match (RTM) cards at the upcoming mega auction.
| Player | Purse deduction (in INR) |
| Capped player 1 | 18 crore |
| Capped player 2 | 14 crore |
| Capped player 3 | 11 crore |
| Capped player 4 | 18 crore |
| Capped player 5 | 14 crore |
| Each uncapped player | 4 crore |
If a franchise opts to retain six players before the IPL 2025 Auction, they can retain a maximum of five capped and two uncapped players under various brackets. While the capped players are segregated into three brackets ranging from Rs 18 crore to Rs 11 crore, an uncapped player can be retained at Rs 4 crore. The purse breakdown will then fall as:
| Capped | Uncapped | Purse used for retention (In INR) | Purse left for auction (In INR) |
| 5 | 1 | 18 + 14 + 11 + 18 + 14 + 4 (79 crore) | 41 crore |
| 4 | 2 | 18 + 14 + 11 + 18 + 4 + 4 (69 crore) | 51 crore |
If a franchise opts to retain less than six players on October 31, the RTM cards will come into play at the mega auction. A team can also choose to release all of their players and enter the mega auction with six RTM cards, enabling them an option to buy-back players at an unrestricted amount.
| Capped | Uncapped | RTMs | Purse used | Purse left for auction |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 75 crore | 45 crore |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 65 crore | 55 crore |
| 4 | 0 | 2 | 61 crore | 59 crore |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 51 crore | 69 crore |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 47 crore | 73 crore |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | 43 crore | 77 crore |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 40 crore | 80 crore |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 36 crore | 84 crore |
| 2 | 0 | 4 | 32 crore | 88 crore |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 26 crore | 94 crore |
| 1 | 1 | 4 | 22 crore | 98 crore |
| 1 | 0 | 5 | 18 crore | 102 crore |
| 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 crore | 112 crore |
| 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 crore | 116 crore |
| 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 crore | 120 crore |
Who is an uncapped player?
According to the retention rules, any Indian player who has yet to play international cricket will fall in the uncapped player category. In a new inititative this season, capped Indian players who have not featured in an internatonal game in the last five years or have not earned a BCCI central contract in this period, will also fall under the ‘uncapped’ player category. This will enable a team like Chennai Super Kings to retain their former captain and talisman MS Dhoni at a reduced slab of INR 4 crore.
