The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed franchises that they can use a Right-to-Match (RTM) card during the auction to bring back a player who was part of the respective team last season, with the Women’s Premier League mega-auction scheduled in the last week of November.

In a communique, which Sportstar has seen, the Board has informed franchises that they can retain up to five players — a maximum of three capped Indian players, and no more than two overseas players.

If a franchise retains five players, at least one should be an uncapped Indian player.

For every player (of the five slots available) not retained, an RTM will be available. So, if a franchise retains five players, the RTM option will be lost, while if it retains four players, it will have four RTMs and so on.

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According to the communique, the auction purse has been fixed at INR 15 crore, and there are different slabs: INR 3.5 crore for Player 1, INR 2.5 crore for Player 2, INR 1.75 crore for Player 3, and INR 1 crore for Player 4.

For a fifth player, the price will be INR 50 lakh.

“If a franchise opts to retain five players, INR 9.25 crore would be deducted from its purse, while for four, the deduction would be INR 8.75 crore; for three, it would be INR 7.75 crore; for two, INR 6 crore; and for one, INR 3.5 crore,” the communique states.

Several franchise officials told this publication that the RTM option — a new addition in the auction — could help them keep the core intact.

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The teams need to submit their retention list by November 5, while November 18 is the last date for player registration.

Though the communique did not specify the details of the auction venue, sources in the Board have confirmed that it will be held in India.

A couple of venues have been shortlisted, and the final one will be zeroed in on by early next week. Mumbai hosted the first two seasons of the auction, while the previous auction took place in Bengaluru.

Published on Oct 09, 2025