The IPL 2025 retentions threw up some unexpected changes on Thursday like Rishabh Pant parting ways with Delhi Capitals after a nine-year association.
Sunrisers Hyderabad retained South Africa's big-hitter Heinrich Klaasen for Rs 23 crore/Rs 230 milliion to make him the most expensive retained player in IPL history while Chennai Super Kings retained Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its uncapped player.
Jasprit Bumrah was Mumbai Indians' top retention for Rs 18 crore/Rs 180 million ahead of Captain Hardik Pandya at Rs 16.35 crore/Rs 163.5 million.
Shreyas Iyer was released despite leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL 2024 title, while K L Rahul also suffered the same fate at Lucknow Super Giants.
A look at the retained and released players by the 10 IPL teams:
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai went on expected lines as they retained their five senior most players. However, the big talking point was Jasprit Bumrah getting Rs 18 crore, more than Hardik Pandya, who was retained for Rs 16.35 crore.
MI also managed to retain former captain Rohit Sharma for Rs 16.30 crore/Rs 163 million, while Tilak Varma pipped Ishan Kishan, who was a surprise exclusion.
Players retained" Jasprit Bumrah (Rs 18 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (Rs 16.35 crore), Hardik Pandya (Rs 16.35 crore), Rohit Sharma (Rs 16.30 crore), Tilak Varma (Rs 8 crore/Rs 80 million)
Purse remaining: Rs 45 crore/Rs 450 million.
RTM: 1 (Uncapped)
Chennai Super Kings
CSK got a bargain deal as they retained Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 43, as the uncapped player for just Rs 4 crore/Rs 40 . Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were the top retentions for Rs 18 crore each, while Matheesha Pathirana and Shivam Dube were the other two star players to be retained.
They one RTM left for the auction which they could use to buy back Rachin Ravindra or Shardul Thakur at the auction.
Players retained: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Rs 18 crore), Matheesha Pathirana (Rs 13 crore/Rs 130 million), Shivam Dube (Rs 12 crore/Rs 120 million), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 18 crore), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Rs 4 crore)
Purse remaining: Rs 55 crore/Rs 550 million
RTM: 1
Kolkata Knight Riders
The IPL 2024 champions surprised everyone as they released title winning captain Shreyas Iyer after he failed to agree the terms on a new contract.
Rinku Singh was the top retention for KKR at Rs 13 crore, while Andre Russell stayed back for Rs 12 crore -- the same as spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine.
KKR were lucky to get Australia-bound pacer Harshit Rana for just Rs 4 crore, while the highly-rated Ramandeep Singh was also retained at the same price.
With just 51 crore/Rs 510 million to build the rest of their squad, it remains to be seen if KKR can get back seasoned campaigners Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana at the auction.
Players retained" Rinku Singh (Rs 13 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (Rs 12 crore), Sunil Narine (Rs 12 crore), Andre Russell (Rs 12 crore), Harshit Rana (Rs 4 crore), Ramandeep Singh (Rs 4 crore).
Purse remaining: Rs 51 crore
RTM: None
Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH made Heinrich Klaasen the most expensive retained player in the IPL as they paid him a hefty Rs 23 crore. Captain Pat Cummins went for much lesser at Rs 18 crore, while Abhishek Sharma earned rich rewards for his batting heroics last year with a whopping Rs 14 crore/Rs 140 million -- the same as Australian Travis Head.
All-rounder Nitish Reddy was retained at Rs 6 crore/Rs 60 million as he was preferred ahead of Washington Sundar.
The experienced pace duo of Thangarasu Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were also released.
SRH have one uncapped RTM left which they could use to buy back Abdul Samad, who has spent the last five seasons at the franchise.
Players retained: Heinrich Klaasen (Rs 23 crore), Pat Cummins (Rs 18 crore), Abhishek Sharma (Rs 14 crore), Travis Head (Rs 14 crore), Nitish Kumar Reddy (Rs 6 crore)
Purse remaining: Rs 45 crore
RTM: 1 (Uncapped)
Delhi Capitals
Delhi releasing their captain and star Rishabh Pant was the biggest surprise of the IPL 2025 retentions.
Apparently, they were quite a few disagreements with the team owners on a few issues including appointment of new coaches which forced Pant to try his luck at the auction.
Pant's price will surely go through the roof at the auction with several teams on the lookout for a new captain.
Axar Patel was DC's top retention at Rs 16.50 crore/Rs 165 million while they also retain spinner Kuldeep Yadav at Rs 13.25 crore. Interestingly, they also didn't retain young Australian batting sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk, who played some incredible knocks in IPL 2024, smashing 330 runs in nine games at a strike rate of 234.
They did they retain South African Tristan Stubbs, who score 378 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 190, for a hefty Rs 10 crore/Rs 100 million while Abishek Porel was their uncapped retention at Rs 4 crore.
Along with an auction purse of Rs 73 crore/Rs 730 million, Delhi still have two RTM options left for the auction including one capped player, which they could use to buy Mitchell Marsh or Anrich Nortje.
Players retained: Axar Patel (Rs 16.50 crore), Kuldeep Yadav (Rs 13.25 crore), Tristan Stubbs (Rs 10 crore), Abishek Porel (Rs 4 crore)
Purse remaining: Rs 73 crore
RTM: 2
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan went in for the maximum six retentions to keep the core of their team intact.
With Rahul Dravid taking over as head coach, Royals opted to continue with most of their batting stars. Captain Sanju Samson and young Yashasvi Jaiswal were both retained for a huge Rs 18 crore price tag.
Riyan Parag was rewarded for his fine showing in IPL 2024 with a Rs 14 crore deal, while India Test wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel also got the same price as Royals kept faith in youth, while releasing their spin stalwarts Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Sandeep Sharma was retained as the uncapped player for Rs 4 crore.
Jos Buttler, who has been part of Royals since 2018, was surprisingly released. With no RTM remaining, Royals might find it difficult to get him back.
Players retained: Sanju Samson (Rs 18 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rs 18 crore), Riyan Parag (Rs 14 crore), Dhruv Jurel (Rs 14 crore), Shimron Hetmyer (Rs 11 crore/Rs 110 million), Sandeep Sharma (Rs 4 crore).
Purse remaining: Rs 41 crore/Rs 410 million
RTM: None
Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans went on expected lines as they stuck with their tried and tested players.
Rashid Khan, one of the best spinners in T20 cricket, was the top retention at Rs 18 crore, with Captain Shubman Gill a little lower at Rs 16.50 crore/Rs 165 million.
Sai Sudharsan, despite being a capped player, was retained for Rs 8.5 crore/Rs 85 million, while the uncapped duo of Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan got Rs 4 crore each.
With Mohammed Shami's fitness in doubt, he was released but he could be bought back at the auction using the RTM option with Titans having Rs 69 crore/Rs 60 million in their auction purse.
Players retained: Rashid Khan (Rs 18 crore), Shubman Gill (Rs 16.50 crore), Sai Sudharsan (Rs 8.50 crore), Rahul Tewatia (Rs 4 crore), Shahrukh Khan (Rs 4 crore)
Purse remaining: Rs 69 crore
RTM: 1
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
kept faith in their biggest star Virat Kohli with a massive Rs 21 crore (Rs 210 million) deal.
While they retained Rajat Patidar for Rs 11 crore, they made a shocking decision to release Mohammed Siraj while retaining the uncapped Yash Dayal for Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million).
Glenn Maxwell was a surprising release, while Cameron Green's recent surgery left RCB with no other option but to let hm go.
RCB have Rs 83 crore/Rs 830 million in their auction kitty which could see them target the likes of Pant, Iyer and Rahul at the auction to get a new captain.
With three RTMs left, they could look to bring back Siraj, Akash Deep and Lockie Ferguson at the auction.
Players retained: Virat Kohli (Rs 21 crore), Rajat Patidar (Rs 11 crore), Yash Dayal (Rs 5 crore)
Purse remaining: Rs 83 crore
RTM: 3
Lucknow Super Giants
LSG rewarded Nicholas Pooran with a huge Rs 21 crore deal while they expectedly released captain K L Rahul after the team's below-par showing last season.
Rahul scored 520 runs in 14 games last season, but his strike rate of 136 did invite a lot of criticism.
Ravi Bishnoi and Mayank Yadav bagged hefty deals worth Rs 11 crore, while the uncapped duo of Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni were retained for Rs 4 crore each.
With one RTM left, it remains to be seen who among Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis and Deepak Hooda LSG attempt to retain at the auction.
Players retained: Nicholas Pooran (Rs 21 crore), Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 11 crore) Mayank Yadav (Rs 11 crore), Mohsin Khan (Rs 4 crore), Ayush Badoni (Rs 4 crore)
Purse remaining: Rs 69 crore/Rs 690 million
RTM: 1
Punjab Kings
With Ricky Ponting taking over as head coach, Punjab Kings went in for a complete overhaul as they retained the uncapped duo of Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh -- two of their best performers last season.
Punjab's decision to release Arshdeep Singh, who played a key role in India's T20 World Cup triumph, did surprise.
Left-arm pacer Arshdeep had been one of their most consistent performers with the ball in the last few seasons, but Punjab would be hoping to buy him back at the auction using one of its four RTMs.
With Rs 110.5 crore (Rs 1.105 billion) in the auction purse, Punjab will surely target Pant, who had a good relationship with Ponting at Delhi.
Players retained: Shashank Singh (Rs 5.5 crore/Rs 55 million), Prabhsimran Singh (Rs 4 crore)
Purse remaining: Rs 110.5 crore
RTM: 4
Photographs: BCCI
