IPL 2025 : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has introduced a revolutionary change in IPL 2025, allowing franchises to temporarily sign players under specific conditions. This unprecedented move gives teams greater flexibility while maintaining fairness in player recruitment.
IPL 2025’s Historic Move: BCCI Allows Temporary Player Signings with a Catch!
Table of Contents
What’s New? The Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP)
For the first time in IPL history, the BCCI has introduced a Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP), a designated list of players who went unsold in the auction but are eligible for temporary recruitment under exceptional circumstances.
Key Rules for Temporary Player Signings
1. Short-Term Replacements for Wicketkeepers
- If all wicketkeepers in a squad are unavailable, teams can request a short-term replacement from the RAPP.
- The replacement player must leave once any of the original squad wicketkeepers return.
- If the unavailable wicketkeeper is an overseas player, the replacement must be an Indian player (if the team has already filled its overseas quota).
2. Season-Ending Injuries
A player can be replaced for the remainder of the season if:
- The injury occurs before or during the team’s 12th league match.
- A BCCI-nominated doctor confirms the injury as season-ending.
- The replaced player cannot return during the same IPL season.
3. Other Replacement Scenarios
A player can also be replaced if they are unavailable due to:
- International FTP commitments.
- No No Objection Certificate (NOC) from their national or state board.
- Injury or illness confirmed by both the home board’s and a BCCI-nominated doctor.
- Retirement from all professional cricket.
- Any other BCCI-approved reason.
4. Financial and Contractual Terms
- Each unavailable player can be replaced by only one replacement.
- The replacement player’s salary cannot exceed that of the unavailable player.
- Salaries of replacement players do not count towards the team’s salary cap for the season.
- Replacement contracts are adjusted based on the number of matches remaining.
5. Registration and Compliance
- Replacement players must be part of the RAPP list (unsold auction players).
- If a franchise has hired a RAPP-listed player as a net bowler, they must release him if another team signs him as a replacement.
- Teams must get BCCI approval before finalizing a replacement.
- No replacements can be signed before the player auction of the relevant season.
How Will This Impact IPL 2025?
These new rules, especially the short-term replacement option for wicketkeepers, will significantly enhance team flexibility. A team like Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with only Jitesh Sharma and Phil Salt as wicketkeeping options, can now sign a backup from the RAPP list if both become unavailable.
This marks a historic moment in IPL history, ensuring that franchises can tackle unexpected player shortages while maintaining fairness in squad composition. Stay tuned as IPL 2025 unfolds with these groundbreaking new regulations!
FAQ
What is the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP)?
RAPP is a list of unsold auction players eligible for temporary recruitment by IPL teams under special conditions.
Can a replaced player return to the squad in the same season?
No, once a player is replaced, they cannot return during that IPL season
