All 10 IPL teams on Thursday (October 31) released their list of retained players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auctions, which are reportedly set to take place in the last week of November.
All 10 IPL teams on Thursday (October 31) released their list of retained players from the 2024 squad ahead of the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auctions scheduled to take place in the last week of November. Several top players like Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, and Jasprit Bumrah were, on expected lines, retained by their current franchises but a few star cricketers like Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were released by Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Lucknow Super Giants respectively.
While Rahul’s exit from LSG came as no surprise, the release of Pant and Iyer did shock a bit. Pant was part of DC since 2016 and served as captain in the last edition of the cash-rich league whereas Iyer was the captain of the KKR team that won the IPL title in 2024. Despite that, he was released by the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise.
Here’s a look at the top winners and losers from player retention ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auctions:
Winners: Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, and Sunrisers Hyderabad
MI managed to retain Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bumrah and Tilak Varma ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auctions. Bumrah signed an extension for Rs 18 crore whereas Surya, Hardik, and Rohit were retained for Rs 16.35 crore, Rs 16.35 crore and Rs 16.30 crore respectively. MI kept hold of their strong Indian core.
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CSK, on the other hand, have retained Ruturaj Gaikwad (Rs 18 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 18 crore), Matheesha Pathirana (Rs 13 crore), Shivam Dube (Rs 12 crore) and Dhoni for Rs 4 crore. There was a big question mark over Dhoni’s playing future but he has been retained by the franchise as an uncapped player meaning he will take the field for at least one more season. CSK will enter the IPL 2025 mega auctions with one RTM, which they can use for Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway or Deepak Chahar.
IPL 2024 losing finalists SRH have also retained five players – Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Nitish Reddy and Abhishek Sharma. All the retained players played a big role in the team’s super show in IPL 2024 and the team management, and owners will expect a similar show from them once again next year.
Losers: Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals
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RR have retained six players but they let go of Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin. While one can understand the logic behind parting ways with Ashwin because of age, to not retain Buttler, Boult and Chahal, and instead preferring Shimron Hetmyer and Dhurv Jurel is a big surprise. This is no to question the potential of Jurel and Hetmyer but it’s incomparable to the pedigree of Buttler, Boult and Chahal. Also to retain six players, RR splashed out Rs 79 crore and will enter the auction with just Rs 41 crore.
LSG have retained Nicholas Pooran (Rs 21 crore), Mayank Yadav (Rs 11 crore), Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 11 crore), and two uncapped Indian players – Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan – for Rs 4 crore each. The decision to retain Pooran for Rs 21 crore is surprising because the West Indies batter has struggled with consistency and the price tag could add more pressure on him to deliver. LSG have taken a big risk by retaining Mayank for Rs 11 crore because the 22-year-old has major fitness issues and whether he will be able to play a full season for them remains to be seen.
Delhi Capitals retained four players but released Rishabh Pant and Jake Fraser-McGurk, who are now set to trigger a massive bidding war at the IPL 2025 mega auctions – don’t be shocked if they end up breaking the record for most expensive players in IPL history.
The retention of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Tristan Stubbs along with Abhishek Porel makes sense but one can’t let go of both Pant and Fraser-McGurk.
Too early to predict: Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans
KKR released IPL 2024 winning captain Iyer and IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans didn’t retain Mohammed Shami and David Miller. The decisions seem illogical given what they have done for their respective franchises in the past.
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What About Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru?
PBKS and RCB have only retained two and three players respectively, from the 2024 squad. PBKS will enter the mega auction with a purse of Rs 110.50 crore and RCB with Rs 83 crore. They will have plenty of RTM options to deploy meaning a few familiar faces could be back next season. Having released a majority of their respective squads does send a signal the teams are ready for a fresh start.
