R Ashwin Labels IPL's Right To Match Rule As 'Most Unfair' For Players

Senior Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed his discontent with the Right To Match (RTM) option in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. The RTM cards are expected to return for the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, which is anticipated to be held later this year.

Earlier this month, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organised a "constructive dialogue" with the owners of the ten league franchises on various subjects before formulating the IPL player regulations ahead of the next season.

The RTM rule allows teams to retain a player who represented them in the previous season by matching the highest bid placed by another franchise. This rule was previously used by teams to secure valuable players but was removed in the 2021 mega auction to provide new franchises like Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) a broader pool of players.

Before the meeting, ESPNcricinfo reported that significant points of discussion included having mega auctions every five years instead of three, reinstating the RTM card option at auctions, availability/shortage of overseas players, and a limit on total number of retentions.

Ashwin believes that RTM is unfair for both players and other teams. He explained his stance on his YouTube channel: "There is no rule more unfair for a player than RTM. Because how has the RTM rule been so far? For example, there is a player called X. He is on a team called, let us say, Sunrisers. His current value is around Rs five-six crores. He has gone into the auction."

"Now say Sunrisers want to buy the player back. So, the Sunrisers will bid for the player at a base price of 2 crore. Then, let us say, KKR and the Mumbai Indians are bidding for the player," he continued.

"The bid goes up to 6 crores and finally, they say, 'The player is sold to the Mumbai Indians for 6 crores.' So, with RTM, the Sunrisers will then bid for and take the player at 6 crores," Ashwin elaborated.

"The problem here is that Sunrisers are happy. But KKR and MI are unhappy. The only person (party) happy is Sunrisers. Because, in the beginning, they gave attendance bid at base price," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

"After that, there is no fair value at all. There is a bidder. The KKR and Mumbai Indians are fighting. For one of those teams, it has gone up to six crores. What does SRH say? 'You bought the player, right? Return the player back,'" he added.

"Very unfair. Because, at this time, SRH has to bid Rs 6.20 crores, the other team Rs 6.40 crores and they should reach the fair value of the player," Ashwin concluded.

There were reportedly varying opinions on player retentions and also on whether to continue with mega auctions as some franchises wanted them scrapped altogether while others preferred larger retention numbers than currently allowed.

As discussions continue among BCCI and franchise owners regarding these regulations, it remains uncertain how these changes will impact future IPL seasons and player dynamics within teams.