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IPL franchises announced their retentions for the 2025 season on Thursday, heading into the mega auctions to be held later this year.
The teams had a record Rs 120 crore purse to spend on retentions and in the auction.
The IPL franchises were allowed to retain six players from their existing squad, either via retention or by using the Right To Match (RTM) option. It is the discretion of the franchise to choose its combination for retentions and RTMs.
Here's who every franchise retained heading into the mega auction:
(Note: Unless 6 retentions have been completed, released players might be brought back through RTMs)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB retained only three players, and none of them were overseas players. The names retained were Indian star Virat Kohli (Rs 21 cr), who becomes the most expensive Indian in IPL history, one of last season's top performers Rajat Patidar (Rs 11 cr) and pacer Yash Dayal (Rs 5 cr).
Captain Faf Du Plessis has been dropped, as have Australian stars Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green. Last season's centurion Will jacks has also been left out.
Suprisingly, RCB's mainstay pacer for the past few years, Mohammed Siraj, has also been dropped.
Auction Purse: Rs 83 crore. RTM: 3
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians retained their Indian senior core of Jasprit Bumrah (Rs 18 cr), Surya Kumar Yadav (Rs 16.35 cr), Hardik Pandya (Rs 16.35 cr) and Rohit Sharma (Rs 16.30 Cr), along with Tilak Verma (Rs 8 cr), who recently captained India's emerging team.
Eyebrows will be raised over Ishan Kishan being dropped, but other retentions were within expectations for the five-time IPL winners.
Purse for auction: Rs 45 crore. RTM: 1
Chennai Super Kings
CSK retained five players, including skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (Rs 18 cr), Sri Lankan pace ace Matheesha Pathirana (Rs 13 cr), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 18 cr), Shivam Dube (Rs 12 cr), and M S Dhoni (Rs 4 cr).
CSK too have retained most of their core players.
Auction Purse: Rs 55 cr. RTM 1.
Delhi Capitals
In a completely surprising turn of events, Delhi Capitals have released their skipper Rishabh Pant.
The franchise based in the national capital have retained T20 World Cup star Axar Patel (Rs 16.5 cr), Kuldeep Yadav (Rs 13.25 cr), South African Tristan Stubbs (Rs 10 cr) and uncapped keeper-batter Abhishek Porel (Rs 4 cr).
Purse for Auction: Rs 76.25 crore. RTM: 2
Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR also, surprisingly, released their IPL winning skipper Shreyas Iyer, along with last years IPL record buy Mitchell Starc.
They retained Rinku Singh (Rs 13 cr), Varun Charkravarthy (Rs 12 cr), Sunil Narine (Rs 12 cr), Andre Russell (Rs 12 cr), Harshit Rana (Rs 4 cr) and Ramandeep Singh (Rs 4 cr).
Purse: Rs 63 crore. RTM: 0.
Lucknow Super Giants
It seems IPL sides want to completely refresh their styles and captains in the 2025 season, as LSG also released their skipper K L Rahul, who reportedly had a huge spat with owner Sanjiv Goenka last season.
LSG have retained Nicholas Pooran (Rs 21 cr), Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 11 cr), Mayank Yadav (Rs 11 cr), Mohsin Khan (Rs 4 cr) and Ayush Badoni (Rs 4 cr).
Auction Purse: Rs 69 crore. RTM: 1.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH made Heinrich Klassen the most expensive retention this season at Rs 23 cr.
Alongside him, skipper Pat Cummins (Rs 18 cr), Abhishek Sharma (Rs 14 cr), Nitish Kumar Reddy (Rs 6 cr), and Travis Head (Rs 14 cr) were also retained.
Auction Purse: Rs 45 crore. RTM: 1
Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings will head into the auctions with an almost clean slate. The retained their two shining rays in what was a horrid season for them in 2024. Shashank Singh (Rs 5.5 cr) and Prabhsimran Singh (Rs 4 cr) were their retentions
Auction Purse: Rs 110.5 crore RTM: 4
Rajasthan Royals
RR have let go of some some big names, including Jos Buttler, Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult, for the 2025 season.
They have retained skipper Sanju Samson (Rs 18 cr) along with the rising star of Indian cricket Yashavi Jaiswal (Rs 18 cr). Riyan Parag (Rs 14 cr), Dhruv Jurel (Rs 14 cr), Shimron Hetmyer (Rs 11 cr) and Sandeep Sharma (Rs 4 cr) were the other retentions.
Purse: Rs 41 crore RTM: 0
Gujarat Titans
GT also retained most of their core players.
Rashid Khan (Rs 18 cr), skipper Shubhman Gill (Rs 16.5 cr), Rahul Tewatia (Rs 4 cr), Shahrukh Khan (Rs 4 cr) and Sai Sudarshan (Rs 8.5 cr) were their retentions.
Auction Purse: Rs 69 crore. RTM 1.