Updated October 2026 | All stats are as of the end of IPL 2026 (final played 31 May 2026).
Quick answer: IPL retention rules decide which players a franchise can keep before an auction. At the 2025 mega auction each team could keep up to six players, counting direct retentions and Right to Match (RTM) cards together, with no more than five capped players and two uncapped players. The first three retained players cost ₹18 crore, ₹14 crore and ₹11 crore of the ₹120 crore purse, the fourth and fifth cost ₹18 crore and ₹14 crore, and an uncapped player costs ₹4 crore. This guide explains how the rules work, how they got here and how they compare with other leagues.
| Rule summary | |
|---|---|
| Introduced | In its current form for the 2025 mega auction (retention lists were due on 31 October 2024); earlier versions were used in 2018 and 2022 |
| Applies to | All ten franchises at a mega auction. At a mini auction there is no limit on how many players a team keeps |
| Key limit | Six players in total, counting retentions and RTM cards together: at most five capped and two uncapped |
| Price (purse deduction) | ₹18 crore, ₹14 crore, ₹11 crore, ₹18 crore, ₹14 crore for the five capped slots; ₹4 crore for an uncapped player |
| Auction purse | ₹120 crore per team in 2025 |
| Status | The next auction, before IPL 2027, is a mini auction. Rules for the next mega auction had not been announced at the time of writing (October 2026) |
IPL Retention Rules: What This Rule Actually Says
A retention is a franchise’s right to keep a player from its existing squad instead of sending him into the auction pool. At a mega auction almost every squad is rebuilt, so retention is the only way a team can protect a core group. Whatever a franchise does not retain goes into the pool, where all ten teams can bid for it.
Under the rules used for the 2025 mega auction:
- Each franchise could keep a maximum of six players, and that figure includes both direct retentions made before the auction and players brought back with an RTM card during it.
- Of those six, no more than five could be capped players (Indian or overseas) and no more than two uncapped players.
- Every retention takes money out of the team’s ₹120 crore purse, and the amount depends on the slot the player fills (the slab table below).
- An Indian player who has not played in the starting XI of an international match, and has not held a BCCI central contract, in the five calendar years before the season counts as uncapped, even if he once played for India. This applies to Indian players only.
- Players a team does not retain go into the auction. A team can still try to get one back with an RTM card, if it has a slot left.
Retention is tied to the size of the auction. In a mini auction, which happens in the years between mega auctions, franchises keep most of their squads and the rules do not limit how many players they retain. The 2026 mini auction, held in December 2025, had a retention deadline of 15 November 2025 and no cap on the number of players kept.
When It Was Introduced and What Problem It Solved
A mega auction creates a simple problem. If every player is released, fans lose the faces they follow and franchises lose the work they put into building a team. Retention is the compromise: a limited number of keepers, each with a price attached, so teams can protect a core without making the auction pointless. The exact balance has changed from one mega auction to the next, and this page covers the three most recent rule sets.
| Auction | Players a team could keep | Purse per team | RTM cards? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 mega auction | Up to five in total, split between retentions before the auction (up to three) and RTM cards during it | ₹80 crore | Yes (first used at the 2014 mega auction) |
| 2022 mega auction | Up to four retentions; prices of ₹16 crore, ₹12 crore, ₹8 crore and ₹6 crore when four were kept | ₹90 crore | No |
| 2025 mega auction | Up to six, counting retentions and RTM cards together (five capped and two uncapped at most) | ₹120 crore | Yes (returned) |
Two details stand out. First, the purse grew from ₹80 crore in 2018 to ₹120 crore in 2025, a rise of 50 per cent. Second, the RTM card, first used at the 2014 mega auction and used again in 2018, was dropped for 2022 and brought back for 2025, which shows how much the balance between retaining and bidding has been argued over. The 2022 cycle was also unusual because two new franchises joined the league, and they had their own window to pick players before the auction.
How IPL Retention Works, Step by Step
- The rules are set. The BCCI announces the limits, the slab prices and the purse before the retention window opens.
- Each franchise decides on its list. A team picks up to six players (at most five capped and two uncapped) and says whether each one is a direct retention. Any slots left over are the RTM cards it can use at the auction.
- The purse is reduced. The amount taken off the ₹120 crore purse follows the slab table. Five capped players and one uncapped player together cost ₹79 crore, leaving ₹41 crore.
- The lists are submitted by the deadline and published. For 2025 the deadline was 31 October 2024, and all ten lists were announced that day.
- The auction begins with the remaining purse. Players who were not retained are sold to the highest bidder.
- RTM is used. When a player who used to play for a franchise is sold, that franchise can use an RTM card to match the highest bid and keep him. Under the modified 2025 rule, the highest bidder gets one final chance to raise the price before the franchise holding the RTM card decides.
| Retention slot (2025) | Amount deducted from the purse |
|---|---|
| 1st capped player | ₹18 crore |
| 2nd capped player | ₹14 crore |
| 3rd capped player | ₹11 crore |
| 4th capped player | ₹18 crore |
| 5th capped player | ₹14 crore |
| Uncapped player | ₹4 crore |
| All six slots used | ₹79 crore (leaving ₹41 crore of the ₹120 crore purse) |
A Worked Example From a Real Retention List
The clearest way to see the rules is to look at a real list. Rajasthan Royals used all six of their slots before the 2025 auction.
| Player | Category | Retention price |
|---|---|---|
| Sanju Samson | Capped | ₹18 crore |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Capped | ₹18 crore |
| Riyan Parag | Capped | ₹14 crore |
| Dhruv Jurel | Capped | ₹14 crore |
| Shimron Hetmyer | Capped (overseas) | ₹11 crore |
| Sandeep Sharma | Uncapped | ₹4 crore |
| Total | ₹79 crore |
The arithmetic is easy to check: 18 + 18 + 14 + 14 + 11 + 4 = 79, and 120 − 79 = 41. Rajasthan went into the auction with ₹41 crore. Because all six slots were used on direct retentions, they had no RTM cards left.
Chennai Super Kings show a different use of the same rules. They kept five players: Ruturaj Gaikwad (₹18 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (₹18 crore), Matheesha Pathirana (₹13 crore), Shivam Dube (₹12 crore) and MS Dhoni as an uncapped player at ₹4 crore. That comes to ₹65 crore and left ₹55 crore of the ₹120 crore purse. The individual prices do not follow the slab order, but the total for the four capped players (₹61 crore) is the same as the first four slabs added together (18 + 14 + 11 + 18). Dhoni counted as uncapped because he last played for India at the 2019 ODI World Cup, more than five years before the retention date. You can read more about him on his IPL career stats page and in the Chennai Super Kings IPL history.
How Retention Changed Team Tactics
Retention turns team building into a budget decision made months before the auction. The more a franchise keeps, the less it has to spend, so every slot is a trade-off between certainty and flexibility. Rajasthan chose certainty: six keepers and ₹41 crore. Chennai kept five and walked in with ₹55 crore.
The slab structure creates a second effect. The top retention price is ₹18 crore, but the biggest bid at the same auction was ₹27 crore for Rishabh Pant, followed by ₹26.75 crore for Shreyas Iyer. That gap means a franchise can keep a player at a lower price than he would fetch in the market, but it also means a star who is not retained can end up costing a rival far more than the original team would have paid.
The uncapped slot is the cheapest route to keep experience. At ₹4 crore it let Chennai keep Dhoni and let Rajasthan keep Sandeep Sharma, both for a fraction of the price of a capped slot.
Retention is not the end of the story either. Pathirana was retained by Chennai at ₹13 crore for 2025, was released afterwards, and was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹18 crore at the 2026 mini auction. Released players can return to the market at a very different price.
Controversies and Criticism
Retention rules have rarely been settled for long. Three debates come up most often.
- Should RTM exist? The card was dropped for the 2022 auction and returned for 2025 after at least three franchises argued for it. Supporters say it rewards a team for developing a player. Critics say it lets one franchise hold up bidding for everyone else. The 2025 change, which gives the highest bidder a final chance to raise the price, tries to balance the two views.
- Are the slabs fair? A ₹18 crore ceiling on the first slots is well below what the market paid in 2025 for the top names. Pant and Iyer both went through the auction instead of being retained, and both fetched far more than ₹18 crore.
- The five-year uncapped rule. It lets a long-serving veteran be kept for ₹4 crore, as Dhoni was. Supporters see a fair reward for loyalty. Critics see a loophole that makes the uncapped slot cheaper than its name suggests.
How the IPL Version Differs From Other T20 Leagues
The closest match to the IPL is South Africa’s SA20, which fills its squads through an auction rather than a draft. For its fourth season (2025-26), each SA20 franchise could keep up to six players before the auction, with no more than three overseas players and no more than three South African players. The SA20 also introduced RTM that season, and the number of RTM cards a team gets depends on how many South African players it retains. Teams can add one wildcard signing whose fee sits outside the salary cap.
| IPL (2025 mega auction) | SA20 (fourth season, 2025-26) | |
|---|---|---|
| Players kept before the auction | Up to six, retentions and RTM together (five capped and two uncapped at most) | Up to six (three overseas and three South African at most) |
| RTM | Returned for 2025 | Introduced for the fourth season; number depends on South African players retained |
| How squads are filled | Auction | Auction |
| Extra signing outside the cap | Not part of the retention rules | One wildcard player |
Other leagues have been moving away from drafts. The Pakistan Super League replaced its draft with its first player auction for the 2026 season, allowing franchises to retain up to four players and dropping the RTM option. The Big Bash League scrapped its overseas draft for its 2026-27 season, so clubs now sign players directly. Neither has an IPL-style retention slab.
What to Watch Next
The next auction, before IPL 2027, is a mini auction, which the BCCI secretary has said will be held in Goa in December 2026, the first IPL auction in India since December 2022. As with other mini auctions, teams can keep as many of their players as they like. The retention rules for the next mega auction had not been announced at the time of writing. When the BCCI announces them, the key numbers to look for are the size of the purse, the number of retention slots and whether RTM stays. The Impact Player rule, which affects squad building in a different way, has been kept until the 2027 season; our guide to the Impact Player rule explains how it works. For a look at the franchises themselves, start with the IPL teams guide, and for more explainers see IPL rules explained.
Related guides: how the IPL auction works, the IPL auction explained, IPL rules explained, all auction and business guides.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the retention rules in the IPL?
IPL retention rules let a franchise keep players from its squad before an auction. At the 2025 mega auction each team could keep up to six players, counting retentions and RTM cards together, with at most five capped and two uncapped players. The first three slots cost ₹18 crore, ₹14 crore and ₹11 crore, the fourth and fifth cost ₹18 crore and ₹14 crore, and an uncapped player costs ₹4 crore, all taken from a ₹120 crore purse.
When was this rule introduced?
Retention in its current six-player form came in for the 2025 mega auction, with lists due on 31 October 2024. Earlier mega auctions used different limits: up to five players in total, including RTM cards, in 2018, and up to four retentions with no RTM in 2022. The RTM card was first used in 2014, used again in 2018, dropped in 2022 and brought back in 2025.
Does this rule apply in other leagues?
Not in the same form. South Africa’s SA20 allows up to six retentions per franchise (no more than three overseas and three South African) and introduced RTM for its fourth season. The Pakistan Super League moved from a draft to an auction for 2026 with up to four retentions and no RTM, and the Big Bash League now signs players directly; neither has an IPL-style retention slab.