'What Gives Them The Right To...': R Ashwin Fumes At IPL Teams' Latest Demand, Suggests New Rule

IPL 2025 Mega Auctions: There is a lot of buzz around the eighteenth season of the Indian Premier League, more because of the upcoming mega auctions. The last mega auctions were held in 2022 when two teams Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants were added to the cash rich league. In less than three years time, there is another mega auction that is being held and the idea isn't fitting right with few franchise owners, few players and some sections of the fans.

Ravichandran Ashwin Bashes Franchise Owners

Indian pacer and former Punjab Kings captain is known as one of the most intelligent cricketers. Ashwin has always been lauded for his game awareness and how he formulates his strategies. R. Ashwin always keeps his opinion and has earned himself the reputation of never mincing words.

Much ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auctions, R. Ashwin has called out IPL franchise owners and has questioned them over the infamous Right To Match (RTM) rule. The RTM rule was first introduced in 2014 and has not been used in IPL auctions since 2018. While speaking on Kris Srikkanth's YouTube channel, Ashwin questioned the franchise owners' idea of drafting players using the RTM.

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'If a franchise has released a player because they don’t see him in their top four or five, then what gives them the right to jump in during an auction. You give the option to the player asking if he wants to be right to match. There should be a contract binding the two parties, which says he can be RTMed only if the price is X amount and leave that pre-determined amount to be decided by the player.', R. Ashiwn said.

What Is The Right To Match Rule?

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Ahead of the mini and mega auctions, it is mandatory for the IPL franchises to name their releases and retentions. The players retained go to the auction pool. After going into the auctions, if the released players end up going to some other team, their previous owners have the right to retain their services back using the Right  To Match card.