At least a couple of high-profile IPL players have informed their respective franchises that they will only agree to stay on as retained players for the 2028 mega auction if they receive INR 40 crore. The demands, which surfaced ahead of the November 17 retention deadline for IPL 2027, represent a significant escalation in player valuations and place considerable pressure on franchise budgets.

The INR 40 crore figure is notably higher than anything seen at the 2025 mega auction, where the BCCI prescribed retention slabs of INR 11 crore, INR 14 crore and INR 18 crore. In at least one instance, the INR 40 crore demand is also tied to a captaincy condition, adding a non-financial dimension to the negotiation.

The IPL 2027 mini-auction is scheduled for December 16, 2026, in Goa, and IPL 2027 will be the final cycle before the 2028 mega auction. The retention deadline for IPL 2027 was extended to November 17, 2026, from the original date of November 15, 2026. There is no cap on the number of retentions a franchise can make for the IPL 2027 mini-auction.

Why are players demanding INR 40 crore when the 2025 auction ceiling was far lower?

The context for these demands lies in what happened when players chose the auction route over retention at the 2025 mega auction. Rishabh Pant declined a retention offer and went under the hammer, with Lucknow Super Giants bidding INR 27 crore to secure him. Shreyas Iyer similarly opted against retention and fetched INR 26.75 crore at that same auction. Both figures comfortably exceeded the highest prescribed retention slab of INR 18 crore, demonstrating that the open market rewarded players who rejected fixed retention fees.

Going further, overseas players also commanded sums well above the prescribed slabs. Heinrich Klaasen was bought for INR 23 crore and Nicholas Pooran for INR 21 crore at the 2025 mega auction, both exceeding the retention ceiling that BCCI had set. Although the retention slabs were designed to give franchises cost certainty, the auction results showed that elite players could earn significantly more by entering the pool freely.

The total franchise purse at the 2025 mega auction stood at INR 120 crore per side. The purse for the 2027 season has been confirmed at INR 130 crore. Whether the purse will rise further for the 2028 mega auction is not yet formally confirmed, though it is expected to increase to around INR 150 crore per franchise. The historical trajectory supports that expectation: the IPL purse was INR 20 crore in the inaugural 2008 season, rose to INR 60 crore in 2014, climbed to INR 80 crore in 2018, reached INR 90 crore in 2022 and then jumped to INR 120 crore for the 2025 mega auction.

How did the 2025 retention cost structure work, and what precedent does it set?

Retaining players at the 2025 mega auction came with a fixed deduction from a franchise's available purse. A franchise retaining five players had INR 75 crore deducted from its overall purse before bidding began.

"If the combined amount exceeded INR 75 crore, the actual amount was deducted. If it was lower, the deduction remained INR 75 crore," the rule stated as quoted by Cricbuzz.

This structure meant that franchises retaining players at the prescribed slabs of INR 11 crore, INR 14 crore and INR 18 crore would always face the minimum INR 75 crore deduction regardless of the combined total falling short. However, if a franchise retained players whose combined value crossed INR 75 crore, the full combined figure was deducted instead. The BCCI has not yet announced what the retention rules or deduction slabs will look like for the 2028 mega auction.

With players now signalling demands of INR 40 crore per head for the next mega auction cycle, franchises face a difficult calculation. A single retention at that price would consume more than a quarter of the expected INR 150 crore purse, leaving considerably less room to build a squad through the auction. The 2025 experience, where players like Pant and Iyer earned INR 27 crore and INR 26.75 crore respectively by going to auction, has clearly shaped player expectations for the cycle ahead.