The highly-anticipated Indian Premier League 2025 mega auction is all set to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25.
With the 10 teams looking to fill 204 slots from an available pool of 574 players, the IPL 2025 auction promises to be a thrilling affair.
In the scheme of things, the Right-to-Match (RTM) rule will be a key element during the impending bidding war in Jeddah.
What is RTM card in IPL
The RTM card essentially gives IPL teams, under certain conditions, the option to retain specific players from their previous squad even if they are bid on by other teams during the auction.
It was first introduced during the IPL 2014 mega auction and also featured in the 2018 edition with each team allowed to use three RTM cards.
While the RTM card rule was scrapped from the IPL 2022 auction, it will return during the IPL 2025 mega auction, albeit with certain tweaks.
RTM rule in IPL 2025 explained
Heading into the IPL 2025 auction, each of the 10 teams was allowed to retain up to six players from their previous squads, with a maximum of five capped and two uncapped Indian players allowed.
Teams which opted not to use up their full quota of pre-auction retentions before the deadline on October 31 will have the opportunity to use RTM cards during the auction. For instance, if a team retains four players they will have two RTM cards for the auction.
However, the cap of five capped players and two uncapped Indian players will still apply. This means that teams who have retained five capped players pre-auction can only use their only RTM option on an uncapped Indian player during the main auction.
Using the RTM card allows a team to match the highest bid on any of its former players from the previous season during the auction to buy him back.
While using the RTM card once would have been enough to retain the player in question previously, the IPL 2025 auction RTM rule has added a new twist to the process.
Once a team uses RTM, the original bidder will get one final opportunity to raise their bid for the player.
If the original bidder raises their bid again the team using the RTM card will have to match that bid again to retain the player. If not, the team that made the final bid will sign the player and the original team will keep their RTM card to use it later.
Rajasthan Royals RTM cards at IPL 2025 auction
Rajasthan Royals will not have any RTM cards during the IPL 2025 auction since they have already retained their full quota of six players during the pre-auction retention window. Kolkata Knight Riders are the only other team which will not have any RTM cards to play during the IPL 2025 auction.
RTM cards in IPL 2025
IPL team | Retentions before IPL 2025 auction | Right-to-match cards left |
Rajasthan Royals | 6 | 0 |
Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 | 0 |
Chennai Super Kings | 5 | 1 (capped/uncapped) |
Mumbai Indians | 5 | 1 (uncapped) |
Lucknow Super Giants | 5 | 1 (capped) |
Gujarat Titans | 5 | 1 (capped) |
Sunrisers Hyderabad | 5 | 1 (uncapped) |
Delhi Capitals | 4 | 2 (all capped/one capped and one uncapped) |
Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 3 | 3 (all capped/two capped and one uncapped) |
Punjab Kings | 2 | 4 (all capped) |
