IPL 2025: BCCI invites franchises to discuss player retention, feasibility of ‘Right to Match’ for next season

With a mega auction scheduled, mostly in December, the franchises await clarity on the player retention policy and also on the feasibility of Right to Match, and all these areas are set to be discussed in the meeting.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited the owners of all Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises to discuss the road map for next season. | Photo Credit: AFP

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited the owners of all ten Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises for a meeting here on July 31 to discuss the road map for next season.

With a mega auction scheduled, mostly in December, the franchises await clarity on the player retention policy and also on the feasibility of Right to Match, and all these areas are set to be discussed in the meeting.

Several franchise sources have confirmed to  Sportstar that the IPL CEO Hemang Amin informed all of them about next week’s meeting on Thursday morning, even though the venue is yet to be finalised. It is believed that the Board is keen on hosting it at its refurbished headquarters at the Wankhede Stadium premises.

During the mega auction in 2018, franchises were allowed to retain up to five players - three from the auction - and others by using the Right to Match option. However, when two teams - Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants - entered the fray in 2022, the mega auction saw each franchise retaining up to four players, and the Right to Match was done away with.

While that allowed Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants to choose from a larger pool, the existing eight franchises had to break their core unit. However, this time around, the franchises are batting for the Right to Match option, and there are also demands of increasing the number of retained players up to eight.

Back in March, the IPL Governing Council chairman Arun Dhumal had told  Sportstar that franchises could only retain up to 3-4 players and the rest would have to be purchased at the auction to ensure a level playing field for all the franchises.

But ahead of the meeting, the Board seems to have adopted the ‘wait and watch’ approach before formalising the newer set of auction guidelines.

“We will discuss each and every factor with the franchises and decide on the future course of action accordingly. We want a healthy discussion and the only objective is to ensure that all franchises get an equal opportunity,” a source in the BCCI said.

While player retention and Right to Match will be the key talking points in the meeting, the revision of a salary cap and whether to continue with the Impact Player rule for one more season will be discussed.

Last season, several players - including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli - expressed their disappointments over the Impact Player rule, however, it is unlikely that it will be scrapped in the IPL as several stakeholders - including the franchises and the broadcasters - believe that the new rule has only made the tournament more intense and at the same time, more competitive