The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction is set to be a significant event. Historically, during mega-auctions, the core structure of teams often undergoes substantial changes.

While the exact number of players each franchise will be able to retain is still unclear, reports indicate that team owners are advocating for the inclusion of multiple Right to Match (RTM) cards in the auction to maintain their core squads.

On the other hand, experienced Indian spinner R Ashwin has expressed his concerns about the RTM option in IPL auctions, suggesting modifications to the rule.

The RTM mechanism allows teams to match the highest bid for a player who was part of their squad in the previous season, thus retaining him.

Ashwin, speaking on Kris Srikkanth’s YouTube show “Cheeky Cheeka,” questioned the fairness of this rule, saying, “If a franchise releases a player because they don’t see him as a key component, why should they have the right to re-enter the bidding?”

Ashwin proposed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revise the RTM rule to give players the choice of whether to return to their former team.

“The player should be given the option to decide if he wants to be retained through the RTM. There should be a contractual agreement between the player and the franchise, where the RTM can only be applied if the price is predetermined by the player,” Ashwin suggested.

It remains to be seen whether the RTM option will be available to IPL teams in the upcoming auction. In the 2018 mega-auction, teams were allowed to retain a maximum of five players, with three retained before the auction and up to two more using the RTM option.

During the 2022 mega-auction, when Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants joined the league, the original eight teams were permitted to retain four players, but the RTM option was not implemented, as the BCCI aimed to provide the new teams with a wider pool of players to choose from.