IPL 2025 Auction RTM Cards, allowing teams to retain players by matching the highest bid made by other franchises. This strategic tool enhances the auction dynamics, enabling teams to hold onto key players they have previously retained. Each team is allowed to retain up to six players, and RTM cards are available based on pre-auction retentions. This development adds an extra layer of strategy to team-building, allowing franchises to safeguard their core players while still participating in the bidding process
IPL 2025 Auction Highlights: Record-Breaking Deals, RTM Strategy, and Team Retentions
The 2025 IPL auction witnessed some of the biggest names in cricket being sold for record-breaking prices, with franchises splurging enormous sums to secure top-tier talent. Rishabh Pant, previously with Delhi Capitals, was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for a staggering ₹27 crore, making him one of the highest-priced players.
Several franchises strategically retained core players by using Right to Match (RTM) cards, balancing experience with fresh talent. This article delves into how teams leveraged RTM cards, which players were retained, and the impact of this strategic tool on the dynamics of the IPL 2025 squads.
What is RTM Card?
Before understanding the Right-to-Match (RTM) card, here’s a simple example: Imagine Rishabh Pant played for Delhi Capitals in the previous season. During the 2025 IPL auction, Lucknow Super Giants bids ₹27 crore for him, winning the auction. However, if Delhi Capitals has an RTM card available, they can use it to match the ₹27 crore bid and retain Pant in their squad, even though Lucknow Super Giants technically won the bid. This allows the original team a second chance to keep a player, but at the highest price offered by the competing team.
The RTM card is a valuable strategic tool for teams to secure their key players without directly bidding against others. However, the number of RTM cards is limited, and teams must carefully choose which players they want to use it on during the auction.
IPL Auction 2025: RTM Card Rules and Retentions
The IPL 2025 auction introduced crucial updates to the Right to Match (RTM) rules and player retention strategies, significantly impacting how franchises prepare for the upcoming season. Teams now have greater flexibility in utilizing RTM options, allowing them to retain key players even after other franchises bid for them. These changes provide franchises with a strategic edge to strengthen their squads and ensure continuity. In this updated system, franchises are adapting their tactics, making player retention and auction strategies more critical than ever as they build competitive teams for the new season
RTM Card Rules
The RTM card allows franchises to retain players from their previous squad who were not retained during the pre-auction retention window. Here are the key points regarding the RTM rules for IPL 2025:
Retentions: Each team can retain up to six players before the auction, with a maximum of five capped (Indian or overseas) and two uncapped Indian players allowed. If a team retains fewer than six players, they gain RTM cards equivalent to the number of players not retained.
Usage of RTM Cards: When a team uses an RTM card during the auction, they can match the highest bid for a player they released. However, in a new twist for 2025, after an RTM card is used, the original bidding team has one final opportunity to increase their bid. The team using the RTM must then decide whether to match this new bid or let the player go to the highest bidder.
Example of RTM in Action
If Chennai Super Kings (CSK) decides to release a player like Shivam Dube and Rajasthan Royals bids ₹6 crore for him, CSK can utilize their Right to Match (RTM) card to match the bid. However, if Rajasthan increases their offer to ₹8 crore, CSK must choose whether to match the new bid or lose Dube to Rajasthan. The RTM card gives teams a strategic advantage in retaining players during the auction, but they must still decide whether to match escalating offers
Team Retentions
As part of their strategy for the auction, teams have made various retention decisions:
- Teams Without RTM Cards: Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders have fully utilised their retention quota and will not have any RTM cards available during the auction.
- Teams with Multiple RTMs: Teams like the Punjab Kings have maximised their options by retaining fewer players, allowing them to enter the auction with multiple RTMs available. This strategy enables them to reclaim key players without committing large sums upfront.
Players Retained Using RTM Cards
Here is the complete list of players retained through the Right to Match (RTM) cards. The list includes:
| Sr. No. | Player | Bidding Amount | Type | Team |
| 1 | Ruturaj Gaikwad | Rs. 18 crore | Capped | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2 | Ravindra Jadeja | Rs. 18 crore | Capped | Chennai Super Kings |
| 3 | Matheesha Pathirana | Rs. 13 crore | Capped | Chennai Super Kings |
| 4 | Shivam Dube | Rs. 12 crore | Capped | Chennai Super Kings |
| 5 | MS Dhoni | Rs. 4 crore | Uncapped | Chennai Super Kings |
| 6 | Rachin Ravindra | Rs. 4 crore | Capped | Chennai Super Kings |
| 7 | Rinku Singh | Rs. 13 crore | Capped | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 8 | Varun Chakravarthy | Rs. 12 crore | Capped | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 9 | Sunil Narine | Rs. 12 crore | Capped | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 10 | Andre Russell | Rs. 12 crore | Capped | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 11 | Harshit Rana | Rs. 4 crore | Uncapped | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 12 | Ramandeep Singh | Rs. 4 crore | Uncapped | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 13 | Sanju Samson | Rs. 18 crore | Capped | Rajasthan Royals |
| 14 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | Rs. 18 crore | Capped | Rajasthan Royals |
| 15 | Riyan Parag | Rs. 14 crore | Capped | Rajasthan Royals |
| 16 | Dhruv Jurel | Rs. 14 crore | Capped | Rajasthan Royals |
| 17 | Shimron Hetmyer | Rs. 11 crore | Capped | Rajasthan Royals |
| 18 | Sandeep Sharma | Rs. 4 crore | Uncapped | Rajasthan Royals |
| 19 | Virat Kohli | Rs. 21 crore | Capped | Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
| 20 | Rajat Patidar | Rs. 11 crore | Capped | Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
| 21 | Yash Dayal | Rs. 5 crore | Uncapped | Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
| 22 | Swapnil Singh | Rs. 50 lakhs | Uncapped | Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
| 23 | Shubman Gill | Rs. 16.5 crore | Capped | Gujarat Titans |
| 24 | Rashid Khan | Rs. 18 crore | Capped | Gujarat Titans |
| 25 | Rahul Tewatia | Rs. 4 crore | Uncapped | Gujarat Titans |
| 26 | Shahrukh Khan | Rs. 4 crore | Uncapped | Gujarat Titans |
| 27 | Sai Sudharsan | Rs. 8.5 crore | Capped | Gujarat Titans |
| 28 | R. Sai Kishore | Rs. 2 crore | Capped | Gujarat Titans |
| 29 | Axar Patel | Rs. 16.5 crore | Capped | Delhi Capitals |
| 30 | Kuldeep Yadav | Rs. 13.25 crore | Capped | Delhi Capitals |
| 31 | Tristan Stubbs | Rs. 10 crore | Capped | Delhi Capitals |
| 32 | Abishek Porel | Rs. 4 crore | Uncapped | Delhi Capitals |
| 33 | Jake Fraser-Mcgurk | Rs. 9 crores | Capped | Delhi Capitals |
| 34 | Mukesh Kumar | Rs. 8 crores | Capped | Delhi Capitals |
| 35 | Nicholas Pooran | Rs. 21 crore | Capped | Lucknow Super Giants |
| 36 | Ravi Bishnoi | Rs. 11 crore | Capped | Lucknow Super Giants |
| 37 | Mayank Yadav | Rs. 11 crore | Capped | Lucknow Super Giants |
| 38 | Mohsin Khan | Rs. 4 crore | Capped | Lucknow Super Giants |
| 39 | Ayush Badoni | Rs. 4 crore | Uncapped | Lucknow Super Giants |
| 40 | Shamar Joseph | Rs. 75 lakhs | Capped | Lucknow Super Giants |
| 41 | Naman Dhir | Rs. 5.25 crores | Uncapped | Mumbai Indians |
| 42 | Jasprit Bumrah | Rs. 18 crore | Capped | Mumbai Indians |
| 43 | Suryakumar Yadav | Rs. 16.35 crore | Capped | Mumbai Indians |
| 44 | Hardik Pandya | Rs. 16.35 crore | Capped | Mumbai Indians |
| 45 | Rohit Sharma | Rs. 16.3 crore | Capped | Mumbai Indians |
| 46 | Tilak Varma | Rs. 8 crore | Capped | Mumbai Indians |
| 47 | Arshdeep Singh | Rs. 18 crore | Capped | Punjab Kings |
| 48 | Shashank Singh | Rs. 5.5 crore | Uncapped | Punjab Kings |
| 49 | Prabhsimran Singh | Rs. 4 crore | Uncapped | Punjab Kings |
| 50 | Pat Cummins | Rs. 18 crore | Capped | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 51 | Abhishek Sharma | Rs. 14 crore | Capped | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 52 | Nitish Reddy | Rs. 6 crore | Uncapped | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 53 | Heinrich Klaasen | Rs. 23 crore | Capped | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 54 | Travis Head | Rs. 14 crore | Capped | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
As mentioned above, every team has 6 RTM cards to use and retain their core players. In the 2025 IPL auction, all 10 teams used their RTM cards to retain their key players for the upcoming season. Now, let’s see how many RTM cards are left in each team’s arsenal.
- Punjab Kings: 4 RTM cards
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 3 RTM cards
- Delhi Capitals: 2 RTM cards
- Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, and Sunrisers Hyderabad: Each has 1 RTM card available.
- Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders: 0 RTM cards, as both teams have utilised their full quota of player retentions before the auction.
Conclusion
RTM (Right to Match) cards are strategic tools in IPL auctions, allowing teams to retain key players by matching the highest bid during the auction. However, using RTMs reduces the team’s available purse, limiting their flexibility to bid on other players. This makes RTMs a calculated risk, balancing player retention with the need to strengthen the overall squad.