October 31 set as deadline for IPL teams to finalise retentions

October 31, 2024 is the deadline for teams to finalise their retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. The IPL franchises can, by a combination of retentions and the right-to-match (RTM) option, retain a maximum of six players - a maximum of five capped (Indian and overseas) and no more than two uncapped (Indian) - ahead of the mega auction, as per the rules announced by the governing council on Saturday.

For the purposes of retention, a player who makes his international debut before October 31 will be considered capped. But if he is retained as one of the uncapped players, and then plays an international game before the day of the auction, he would be considered uncapped and only INR 4 crore would be slashed from the team's auction purse. The purse for the mega auction has been increased by INR 20 crore, giving each franchise INR 120 crore (USD 14.3 million approx) to spend.

"It is at the discretion of the IPL franchise to choose their combination for retentions and RTMs," the IPL release said. "The six retentions/RTMs can have a maximum of five capped players and a maximum of two uncapped players."

As was the case in the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022, the IPL stuck with INR 4 crore as the price for retained uncapped players. The IPL also brought back a rule that it had discarded in 2021, of allowing Indian players who had retired from international cricket at least five years before the relevant season to go into the auction as uncapped players. This gives Chennai Super Kings the option of retaining their former captain MS Dhoni, who last played an international match at the 2019 ODI World Cup, as an uncapped player.