In case a franchise wants to retain five players, the following amounts will be deducted from the purse:

As for the uncapped player, the IPL has stuck with INR 4 crore, as was the case in the 2021 mega auction. That means a franchise retaining six players will lose INR 79 crore from its purse, and go into the auction with just INR 41 crore.

Decks cleared for 'uncapped' Dhoni to be retained

Ahead of the 2022 mega auction, Dhoni was retained as the second player by CSK for INR 12 crore. Dhoni, who turned 43 in July, has only played in the IPL since retiring in 2020. In case CSK now decide to retain him as an uncapped player, Dhoni would be paid INR 4 crore.

Impact Player not going away

The IPL has also decided to retain the Impact Player rule. Since it was introduced in the 2023 season, the rule has stirred wide debate over whether it is indeed beneficial to Indian cricket, which was the original motive, or whether it could be hurting the development of allrounders.

That was one of the points the IPL discussed with the franchises during a meeting on July 31, which was attended by several team owners and team principals. While there was no unanimous nod to the rule, the majority were in favour of it being retained.

Nine of the ten highest totals in IPL history have been recorded since the Impact Player rule, which allows a team to sub out a first-XI player and field a specialist batter or bowler depending on the match situation. The IPL believes the rule has managed to enhance the product by creating such spectacles and it is good from the spectators' point of view, too.