"There is nothing more unfair for a player than RTM" - Ravichandran Ashwin shares his views on retention rule

Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has given his take on the Right to Match (RTM) option in IPL mega auctions. Several franchises are reportedly in favor of having multiple RTMs for the upcoming IPL mega auction to retain their core.

However, Ashwin feels the RTM rule will be unfair to the player and will not provide value to his demand. He explained how a team having the option to RTM a player would not bid at all after the base price, thereby not providing the value of the actual demand for the player.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin said about the rule:

"There is nothing 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 the SunRisers. There is a player in the SunRisers. His current value is around five to six crores. He went to an auction. SunRisers have to buy the player back. So, the SunRisers will bid for the player at a base price of two crore."

"KKR and the Mumbai Indians are bidding for the player. The bid is up to six crores. The player was sold to the Mumbai Indians for six crores. So, the SunRisers will bid for the player at six crores. The problem here is that SunRisers are happy. KKR and Mumbai Indians are unhappy. Kumudha is unhappy. The only person happy is SunRisers. Because, for the first time, they gave attendance. After that, there is no fair value at all. There is a bidder," he added.

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RTM does not have fair value for the player: Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin explained how the other teams involved in the bidding war for a player would be left unhappy and how the cricketer himself would probably know that he didn't get the true value he could have for the demand he generated.

"The KKR and Mumbai Indians are fighting. For a team, it has gone up to six crores. What does SRH say? You bought the player, right? Return the player. Like Soori says in Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu, they are fooling you. We’ll start again. Very unfair. Because, at this time, SRH has to get the fair value of the player. The problem with RTM is that it is not fair value for the player. So, if you give three RTMs, the players will only go empty-handed. Already, there is no fair value in the auction," Ashwin added in the same video.

With several IPL teams reportedly wanting to keep their core intact, it will be interesting to see how many RTMs and retentions are allowed by the IPL governing council.