 "Mayank Yadav, Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy could make heir India debuts against Bangladesh, which could impact their IPL retentions. Image: AP / PTI")
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced a set of guidelines pertaining to the Indian Premier League (IPL) player retentions among other aspects, ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
The IPL mega auction ahead of the 2025 season is expected to take place later this year, and franchises have already begun their preparations with regards to whom to retain and whom to release.
As per the official statement of the IPL Governing Council, all franchises have been allowed to retain a total of six players from the existing squad, and can be done either by player retention or using the Right to Match (RTM) option.
IPL rules | How many players can a franchise retain? What is the total purse for each team?
Indian players who have not played an international match for five years will be declared as an uncapped player, meaning former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni will come under this list.
Capped and uncapped players
The status of a player with regards to being capped or uncapped plays a major role when it comes to the IPL, and the auction in particular. According to a report in Cricbuzz, any player who gets capped on or before 31 October, will be considered as a capped player in the IPL auction as well. It is also important to note that franchises can retain a maximum of two uncapped players.
India players who could get capped against Bangladesh
India’s 15-member T20I squad to face Bangladesh at home was announced on Saturday, with young pace sensation Mayank Yadav receiving his maiden call-up. Also in the squad are Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy, both of whom are yet to make their senior India debuts as well.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe three T20Is will take place on 6, 9 and 12 October, meaning each of these three players could make their India debut well before the 31 October deadline.
As per IPL’s retention policy, the status of a player as a capped or uncapped can impact the player’s retention financially. Let’s take an example. Should Mayank Yadav remain uncapped till 31 October, the retention deadline, then his franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) can retain him for just Rs 4 crores, which is the standard retention price for all uncapped players.
This amount would then be deducted from the franchise’s action purse. Having said that, the auction purse for each team has been increased to Rs 120 crores, from what was Rs 100 crores previously.
However, should Mayank Yadav make his India debut against Bangladesh before the deadline, he will then become a capped player, which would put his retention cost at Rs 11 crore, which is the lowest retention slab for capped players.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are in a similar position. Should Nitish Kumar Reddy not make his India debut against Bangladesh, he will remain an uncapped player and can be retained for Rs 4 crores.
Should Kolkata Knight Riders’ Harshit Rana win an India cap, KKR might have to rethink their retention strategy, since they will thus be unable to retain him for Rs 4 crore.