Cricket
Purses, RTMs, and mega auctions — a seasonal traffic spike. This page has 50 important questions and answers.
The IPL auction is how most players join franchises. Teams have a salary purse and a squad-size cap. A mega auction (when held) forces bigger releases; mini auctions fill gaps. Retention and Right-to-Match (RTM) rules change — quote the current BCCI note, not last decade’s video.
An unsold player is not “banned from cricket.” They can still play other leagues or return in a later list.
50 important questions. Quick 10 is a random set; Full set plays every question.
Original explainers for English readers — not copied match reports or official papers. Tap a question to see the answer.
Answer: a public auction
Purses are capped.
Answer: most players go back into the pot
Retentions are limited by that year’s memo.
Answer: match another team’s winning bid for a released player (if they have an RTM left)
Not every season uses RTM.
Answer: only a set number of non-Indian players can be in the XI
The playing XI cap is what fans argue about.
Answer: the salary budget, not the BCCI’s trophy cash
Unspent purse does not become a bye into the final.
Answer: was not bought at that auction
They can appear in replacements or next year.
Answer: runs the room and the increments
Increments jump at higher prices.
Answer: the ICC draft for a World Cup squad
National teams are picked by boards.
Answer: a public auction
Purses are capped.
Answer: most names go back into the pot
Retentions are limited that year.
Answer: only a set number of non-Indian players can be in the XI
The XI cap is what fans argue.
Answer: players kept before the auction under that year's rules
Slots and purse hits are published.
Answer: fill an injury or pull-out hole after the auction
The league must approve the swap.
Answer: the opening bid the player listed
Unsold at base means no team bid.
Answer: a free extra overseas slot by itself
Read that year's BCCI note.
Answer: unlimited stockpiling
There is a maximum list.
Answer: smaller sales to fill gaps
Mega years are the big reset.
Answer: faster increments at high prices
The room speeds up.
Answer: someone without full international caps, as that memo defines
Definitions sit in the auction brief.
Answer: falls by the hammer price
Maths is on the ticker.
Answer: released before a mega or mini sale
Franchises trim the list.
Answer: how the ICC picks World Cup XIs
Countries do not bid.
Answer: to fit the XI cap on match night
You can own more than you can field.
Answer: can still be nominated again if rules allow
Lists get reopened in some rooms.
Answer: admin buckets in some auction rules
They can affect retention math.
Answer: open and incremental in the room
The hammer ends the lot.
Answer: the BCCI's World Cup budget
Keep league money and ICC events apart.
Answer: comes off that list
Boards and the league update the catalogue.
Answer: does not become extra purse by magic
Use it or lose it that night.
Answer: names, roles, and base prices
Unsold is a possible fate.
Answer: spend past the published purse
The software blocks overspend.
Answer: a separate WPL process
Different league, similar idea.
Answer: PR, not registration
Papers still have to be filed.
Answer: both go through the same room under that year's rules
Caps differ on match day.
Answer: before the season, not during a Super Over
Dates are announced each year.
Answer: is the minimum jump the auctioneer names
Higher prices, bigger steps.
Answer: play other leagues or wait for replacements
The hammer is not a ban.
Answer: reduce the purse before the first lot
The memo shows the table.
Answer: transfer window in the FIFA sense
Cricket leagues use this model.
Answer: authorise bids; they do not umpire
Sporting staff sit beside them.
Answer: fill a role but wreck the purse
Budget discipline is the skill.
Answer: a playing-night limit, not a ban on owning extras
You choose who sits out.
Answer: the auction brief and purse rules
Quote the current note, not a 2014 video.
Answer: keeps the player if the franchise matches the bid
Cards are limited.
Answer: not a life ban from cricket
Next list can look different.
Answer: Right to Match — a way to keep a released player in some seasons
Not every auction year has RTM.
Answer: the spending cap for that auction
Leftover money cannot break the cap later illegally.
Answer: faster increments once the price is high
It stops 10-minute stares.
Answer: come back in later sets if the rules allow
Lists are published in sets.
Answer: change the minimum bid in many IPL auctions
Read that year’s booklet.
Pick the next article in this topic — that is how a magazine issue is meant to be used.
