MasterstrokeSquad building and management
Right to match (RTM)
An auction rule that lets a franchise re-sign a player it released by matching the highest bid, after the bidder has had one chance to raise it.
A right to match (RTM) is a card a franchise can use at auction to re-sign a player it previously held, by matching the winning bid.
When a player who was on a club's books last season comes up for auction, the bidding runs as normal. Once it ends, the player's former club is asked whether it wants to use an RTM. If it does, it signs the player at the winning price and the highest bidder goes home empty-handed. In the IPL's recent versions, the highest bidder is first given one chance to raise its bid, and the former club must then match the raised figure or let the player go. Clubs typically receive RTM cards in place of unused retention slots, so a club that retained fewer players has more cards.
An RTM is valuable because it lets a club see the market price before committing, which a retention does not. It also changes how rivals bid: there is little point pushing the price of a player whose former club is known to want him back, except to make them pay more for it. Managers holding a card should decide before the lot opens what their ceiling is, because the raise rule means the last bid will not be the final one.
In Masterstroke: retentions, releases and right to match are all part of the mega auction, and the mini auctions between them are about the one signing that fixes your middle order.