IPL Retention: MS Dhoni memes viral after BCCI reintroduces uncapped player rule

Cricket fans on social media have stepped up their meme game following the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announcement regarding retention rules ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. Among the major announcements, one notable change is the return of the uncapped player rule. Fans have quickly drawn conclusions about this rule, highlighting the possibility of MS Dhoni continuing to play in the IPL, this time as an uncapped player.
In a significant announcement, which was slotted as the seventh in the eight-point list, the BCCI announced that Indian players, who hadn’t played any international game for at least five calendar years would be considered an uncapped players. MS Dhoni retired from all formats of international cricket in August 2020, but the former captain played his last match for India in July 2019 – in India’s World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand.
IPL Retention Rules Explained
“A capped Indian player will become uncapped if the player has in the last five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant Season is held, not played in the starting XI in International Cricket (Test match, ODI, Twenty20 International) or does not have a Central Contract with BCCI. This will be applicable for Indian Players only,” BCCI said on Saturday, September 28.
MS Dhoni was tight-lipped about his future as a player in the IPL after the end of the 2024 season. He had hinted after winning IPL 2023 with Chennai Super Kings that 2024 edition would be his last and he would see it as a way of giving it back to his fans. However, Dhoni has not announced retirement from the IPL and it looks likely that the ‘uncapped player’ rule might facilitate another season of Dhoni in the cash-rich T20 league.
The retention cost for an uncapped player in IPL 2025 will be Rs 4 cropre, according to news agency PTI.
Dhioni has been conscious about how his retention affects the Super Kings. In 2022, Ravindra Jadeja was paid Rs 16 crore as the retention fees by CSK while Dhoni got Rs 12 crore.
On Saturday, the IPL announced each team can retain a maximum of six players. This can be either via retention or using the Right to Match (RTM) option. The six retentions/RTMs can have a maximum of 5 capped players (Indian and Overseas) and a maximum of 2 uncapped players.