IPL 2025 retentions: Pant, Rahul head to auction; Russell retained by KKR

Folks, that's all from our side for now. We you have been following the retention chatter on ESPNcricinfo, you would have realised there were hardly any surprises.

Some final thoughts...

- MI did manage to retain their big four and Tilak Varma. Jasprit Bumrah is their top retention but Hardik Pandya will continue to lead the side. Rohit Sharma was their fourth retentions.

- RCB retained only three players: Virat Kohli (at 21 crore), Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal. They go into the auction with the second-biggest purse at 83 crore.

- Punjab Kings were the only team to not retain a capped player. Their two retentions are Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh. They also have the biggest purse remaining: 110.5 crore.

- Rajasthan Royals batting order is more or less set. They just need an opener. They have the smallest purse going into the auction: 41 crore.

- As expected, CSK retained MS Dhoni as an uncapped player, for just 4 crore.

- LSG's top buy was Nicholas Pooran, at 21 crore. Their other retentions - Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni - don't have much international experience. They did not retain KL Rahul. Their owner said they wanted players who put the team before their personal goals and aspirations.

- Like LSG, Delhi Capitals too did not retain their captain from the last season. Rishabh Pant will go into the auction.

- SRH retained their core from the 2024 season. Heinrich Klaasen at 23 crore is the most expensive player so far.

While the retained players are a big talking point, some of those who are going into the auction have created, or will create, the same buzz. Here's a non-exhaustive list:

Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis, Quinton de Kock, Mitchell Starc, Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, David Miller, Mohammed Shami, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, R Ashwin, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Cameron Green, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan, Tim David

Andy Flower, RCB head coach: We are thrilled to retain Yash Dayal, an extraordinary talent whose career is on an upward trajectory. His unique ability as a left-arm bowler, capable of swinging the ball in both directions, adds a valuable dimension to our bowling attack - one that is increasingly rare in the auction landscape.

Rajat Patidar is a key member of our squad. His exceptional talent and resilience have already made a significant impact on our team, and he truly embodies the spirit of RCB. We are excited to see him continue to develop and shine in the upcoming season.

Sanjiv Goenka, LSG owner: The first retention was an automatic choice and happened within two minutes, that is Nicholas Pooran. We had a very simple mindset to go in with players who have a mindset to win, who put the team before their personal goals and aspirations. And we wanted to retain as much core as possible within our available purse. We had a strong bowling unit, that’s why we went with three bowlers [Bishnoi, Mayank and Mohsin] from the previous season and all Indians. Pooran was a no-brainer. Ayush [Badoni] has done well for us at No. 6 and No. 7.

Hardik Pandya, MI captain: It’s been fantastic. I have received a lot of love back. It means the world to me. I have always mentioned my journey started here. Everything that I have achieved in my life has come being part of Mumbai Indians. Every year is a special year and this is going to be an even more special year.

[On five retentions] Five people who have cherished good memories together. We are five fingers but one fist. That’s how I look at it. Brotherhood, friendship, and we are going to back each other no matter what.

Rohit Sharma: I have played so much cricket in Mumbai, this is the place where I started my cricket career. So this city is very, very special. Obviously, when you play for such a long time, you create so many memories with the team. We haven’t had the best of the season in the last two or three years. But we are quite determined to change that.

[On being the fourth retention] Since I have retired from the format, I think this is the perfect spot for me. The players who are representing the national team at the highest level should get the preference. That’s what I believe in and I am quite happy with it.

Parth Jindal, team co-owner: “In Axar, Kuldeep, Tristan and Abishek, we have the ideal blend of experience and youth, and I am very pleased with our retentions. I would have liked to retain more players who have turned out for DC, but the rules mean we have to pick strategically. Going into the auction we will have two RTM cards and that leaves the door open for players who have worn the DC shirt in the past, to carry on with us. We know who we want and will make sure to get some if not all the players back. With this important milestone behind us, the team is working tirelessly on the mega auction. Our intent is to build a strong and balanced squad that can bring home a much-awaited IPL trophy to our city.”

Venky Mysore, KKR CEO: The no-brainers would have been maybe 10 or 11 players, but trying to trim that down to six was very challenging, because it’s about the players that you have built an equation with and who have done fantastic for KKR. Sunil has been with us for 12 years while Andre has been with us for 10 years. Varun has been associated with KKR for a long time, since 2019 and Rinku as well has been with for a significant amount of time, since 2018. Harshit has been with the team for three years while Ramandeep came in last year and really made a big impact. So I think it's a good combination.

Ricky Ponting, Punjab Kings head coach: "Prabhsimran [Singh] is someone who we have invested in and have great hopes for. Shashank [Singh]'s skillsets are in high demand and after his breakthrough performances, it was difficult to ignore him. We will target bringing back some of our other players at the auction."

5 players retained: Jasprit Bumrah (INR 18 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (INR 16.35 crore), Hardik Pandya (INR 16.35 crore), Rohit Sharma (INR 16.30 crore), Tilak Varma (INR 8 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 45 crore (out of INR 120 crore)
RTM options at auction: 1
Players eligible for RTM: One uncapped player
Big players not retained: Ishan Kishan, Tim David

2 players retained: Shashank Singh (INR 5.5 crore), Prabhsimran Singh (INR 4 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 110.5 crore
RTM options at auction: 4
Players eligible for RTM: Four capped players
Big players not retained: Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

3 players retained: Virat Kohli (INR 21 crore), Rajat Patidar (INR 11 crore), Yash Dayal (INR 5 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 83 crore
RTM options at auction: 3
Players eligible for RTM: One uncapped player and two capped players, or three capped players
Big players not retained: Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis, Cameron Green

6 players retained: Sanju Samson (INR 18 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (INR 18 crore), Riyan Parag (INR 14 crore), Dhruv Jurel (INR 14 crore), Shimron Hetmyer (INR 11 crore), Sandeep Sharma (INR 4 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 41 crore
RTM options at auction: None
Players eligible for RTM: NA
Big players not retained: Yuzvendra Chahal, Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, R Ashwin

5 players retained: Heinrich Klaasen (INR 23 crore), Pat Cummins (INR 18 crore), Abhishek Sharma (INR 14 crore), Travis Head (INR 14 crore), Nitish Kumar Reddy (INR 6 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 45 crore
RTM options at auction: 1
Players eligible for RTM: Only one uncapped player
Big players not retained: Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Here's the final list of players retained by each of the ten IPL franchises ahead of the upcoming mega auction for the 2025 season.

5 players retained: Ruturaj Gaikwad (INR 18 crore), Matheesha Pathirana (INR 13 crore), Shivam Dube (INR 12 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (INR 18 crore), MS Dhoni (INR 4 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 55 crore
RTM options at auction: 1
Players eligible for RTM: One capped or uncapped player
Big players not retained: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande

4 players retained: Axar Patel (INR 16.50 crore), Kuldeep Yadav (INR 13.25 crore), Tristan Stubbs (INR 10 crore), Abishek Porel (INR 4 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 73 crore
RTM options at auction: 2
Players eligible for RTM: One uncapped player and one capped player, or two capped players
Big players not retained: Rishabh Pant, David Warner, Anrich Nortje

5 players retained: Rashid Khan (INR 18 crore), Shubman Gill (INR 16.50 crore), Sai Sudharsan (INR 8.50 crore), Rahul Tewatia (INR 4 crore), Shahrukh Khan (INR 4 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 69 crore
RTM options at auction: One
Players eligible for RTM: One capped player
Big players not retained: Mohammed Shami, David Miller

6 players retained: Rinku Singh (INR 13 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (INR 12 crore), Sunil Narine (INR 12 crore), Andre Russell (INR 12 crore), Harshit Rana (INR 4 crore), Ramandeep Singh (INR 4 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 51 crore
RTM options at auction: None
Players eligible for RTM: None
Big players not retained: Shreyas Iyer, Mitchell Starc, Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana

5 players retained: Nicholas Pooran (INR 21 crore), Ravi Bishnoi (INR 11 crore) Mayank Yadav (INR 11 crore), Mohsin Khan (INR 4 crore), Ayush Badoni (INR 4 crore)
Purse remaining: INR 69 crore
RTM options at auction: 1
Players eligible for RTM: One capped player
Big players not retained: KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Quinton de Kock, Krunal Pandya

Nagraj Gollapudi reports that Rajasthan Royals are also set to retain six players. ESPNcricinfo had earlier reported four names - Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Sandeep Sharma (uncapped). Add to that Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer.

This means Royals have got their batting more or less sorted. They just need an opener to partner with Jaiswal. Samson, Parag, Hetmyer and Jurel are a solid No. 3 to 6. They will have a purse of 41 crore or less in the auction, with which they need to buy bowlers and back-ups.

Andre Russell and Ramandeep Singh are set to be retained by Kolkata Knight Riders, ESPNcricinfo has learned. Until two days ago, it's understood, they were still deliberating over Russell. But now that is confirmed, KKR's retentions are: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh.

This means KKR will have no RTM card going into the auction.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are set to retain Heinrich Klaasen (23 crore), Pat Cummins (18 crore), Abhishek Sharma (14 crore), Travis Head (14 crore) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (6 crore). That covers two openers, a wicketkeeper, a finisher, a seam-bowling allrounder who can bat at No. 4, and an overseas fast bowler who is also their captain. That also means they will have only 45 crore going into the auction.

Mumbai are also likely to retain five players but there is a big difference. Mumbai's five are all Indians.

Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Sandeep Sharma are set to be retained by Rajasthan Royals. It means Jos Buttler, Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin will go into the auction. I am a bit surprised that Chahal is not likely to be retained. He is only second to Rashid Khan when it comes to wristspinners in the IPL and can also give you an over at the death. Is he too one-dimensional? But with the Impact Player rule, you can always sub him out.

Another player Royals are deliberating on is wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel. We are not too far away from the retention deadline, so we will know soon which way they go.

Once again Punjab Kings are set to start almost from scratch. From their 2024 squad, they are likely to retain only two uncapped players: Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh. We have learned that they were also keen to retain Arshdeep Singh but now it looks like he will go into the auction.

Other high-profile players not retained by Kings are Harshal Patel, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone. It will be interesting to see how many of them Kings will try to buy back using the RTM card; they are likely to have four of those, and a purse in excess of 100 crore.

In Ricky Ponting, they have got a new coach as well. I assume he will have a big say in picking the captain.

Mumbai Indians are set to retain their four major Indian players - Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav - along with Tilak Varma ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

With those five capped players retained, MI can use their one right-to-match option only on an uncapped player at the auction. While the individual amounts for each of their retained player are yet to be ascertained, MI will lose at least INR 75 crore from their purse of INR 120 crore, or more if they have paid a higher aggregate amount to the five.

Barring any last-minute change, LSG are set to release their captain KL Rahul. Having said that, they are retaining five players: Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi and the uncapped pair of Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni.

Kolkata Knight Riders are unlikely to retain their title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer, star allrounder Andre Russell, and their top buy Mitchell Starc.

They have decided to stick with Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and uncapped fast bowler Harshit Rana. Rana was part of the Indian squad for the Bangladesh T20Is but didn't make his debut.

Gujarat Titans are likely to retain Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan. Three capped and two uncapped players means GT will have at least INR 51 crore deducted from their purse. But they have got their openers, captain, a middle-order domestic batter, a finisher, and an ace legspinner sorted.

They will have one RTM card for a capped player at the auction.

A couple of weeks ago, Rishabh Pant had put out the above tweet. The first part has come true: Delhi Capitals have decided not to retain him. Their four retentions are set to be the spin-twins Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, South Africa batter Tristan Stubbs and uncapped Indian wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel. They will have to shell out at least 47 crore for that.

Talking of money, and the second part of Pant's tweet, let's vote.

There are plenty of options for CSK to use their RTM card. Deepak Chahar is an excellent powerplay bowler. He is handy with bat, too. But his form and fitness is a concern. Then there is Tushar Deshpande, an Indian fast bowler who can bowl at the death. In the spin department, CSK can get back Maheesh Theekshana - a mystery spinner tailor-made for Chepauk surfaces.

Among batters, there is Devon Conway who has formed a successful opening pair with Gaikwad. But then how do you ignore Rachin Ravindra, his star shining the brightest right now.

Let's go team by team, in alphabetical order. What is the chatter around Chennai Super Kings?

Nagraj Gollapudi, our part-time reporter and full-time sleuth, has heard that CSK are set to retain five players. Apart from Dhoni, who will be retained as an uncapped player, the others are Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube and Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana.

We do not know how much each player will get but what we can tell you is CSK will lose at least INR 65 crore from their overall purse of 120 crore.

The five retentions leave them with one right-to-match card at the auction, and they can use it for a capped player, as well as an uncapped player.

... at least that is what everyone is calling it. The IPL has revived a rule it had scrapped in 2021. As per this rule, any Indian player who has not played international cricket in the last five years can be categorised as uncapped player. MS Dhoni, whose last match for India was the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, qualifies for this. This means Chennai Super Kings can retain him for just 4 crore.

Since it's Dhoni, everyone knows about it. But who are the other capped players who become uncapped now? Sandeep Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Amit Mishra, Vijay Shankar, Mayank Markande, Karn Sharma and Rishi Dhawan, to name a few. How many of those will the franchises be interested in retaining? I will be surprised if the number is more than two.

Let's start from the start, should we? Each team can retain up to six players, via a combination of retentions and Right-to-Match cards. Of those six, a maximum of five can be capped Indians or overseas players. Up to two can be uncapped Indians.

If you retain one capped player, you will have to part with INR 18 crore out of a purse of 120 crore. If you retain two, please shell out another 14 crore. Those are the lower limits, mind you. You can pay more if you think a player is worth it. Like Sunrisers Hyderabad look set to do with Heinrich Klaasen.

To retain an uncapped player, you will have to spend a minimum of INR 4 crore.

If a team retains five capped internationals and one uncapped Indian, they will lose at least 79 crore. And you can distribute that 79 crore among six players equally. All that and more here.