Will the IPL franchises go for full 5-6 retentions ahead of mega auction 2025?

The eighteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to take place in March 2025, but the mega auction is tentatively scheduled for November 2024. Ahead of the auction, the Board released the retention policies, which allow a maximum of five capped players to be retained by each franchise.

Additionally, two uncapped players can be retained too but the total shouldn't exceed six retentions. The Board has set an auction purse of INR 120 crores per franchise, which they can use according to their convenience. The tricky part is the retention value set for each player, which might put the franchise in deep trouble.

The 1st retention will cost INR 18 crores, the 2nd will cost INR 14 crores, and the third will cost INR 11 crores. Moreover, the fourth and the fifth retentions will again cost INR 18 and 14 crores, respectively. 

Next is the uncapped player cost, which is INR 4 crores. If a team makes six retentions, their purse will be reduced to INR 75 crores before the start of the mega auction. Well, there are several teams, like the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, which have solid players in their squad whom they will try to retain at any cost.

However, spending 18 and 14 crores on 4th and 5th retentions is still a bit too much for these franchises because, in the end, they have to build a team for the future or the next three years at least. Now the real question is, will the teams go for six retentions?

Which teams can go for six retentions?

Practically, no team should go for more than three retentions excluding one uncapped player. Since this is a mega auction, the best players will be released by their squads for the mega auction. Now, if the teams save money in the retentions, they'll be able to buy some good players and form a team or build a foundation for the upcoming three years until the next mega auction. 

Teams like Punjab Kings, and Delhi Capitals will certainly look to release most of their players and buy some good batters and bowlers who can perform in crunch situations. Even when it comes to RCB, they lack a solid bowling line-up, and they should concentrate on getting some good bowlers into the team.

Going for six retentions will reduce the purse price by almost half, which might cause a problem during the mega auction. Hence, the franchises should not go for all six retentions; they can go for just three or four retentions, which will save them a lot of money. They can later buy the same players in the auction, as the cost won't be that high.