IPL 2025: A look at players each team could retain ahead of mega auction

There’s still a few months to go for the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but the excitement towards the next season is building up already. With the new retention rules announced recently and the 31 October deadline for the finalisation of player retentions reportedly being set, all 10 franchises now have their task cut out ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction slated for later this year.

The Right to Match (RTM) card will also make a return to the IPL auction this year, adding a whole new dimension to the IPL auction business.

IPL auction rules | How many players can a franchise retain? What is the total purse for each team?

Let’s now take a quick glance at which players each of the 10 teams could end up retaining before the IPL auction.

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Chennai Super Kings

Former Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni looks all set to be retained for just Rs 4 crore before the IPL 2025 auction. The Jharkhand cricketer is one player who will favour from the return of the “uncapped player” rule —Which allows those Indian players who have not played international cricket in the last five years to enter the auction as an uncapped player.

The advantage of Dhoni being an uncapped player for CSK is this. With the value for all uncapped players now at Rs 4 crore, CSK would not need to spend much money on retaining the 43 year-old. It is also to note that three years ago, Dhoni was retained for Rs 12 crore.

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Ravindra Jadeja, one of Dhoni’s closest teammates, looks set to be retained and so does skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Sunil Narine and Andre Russell have been the backbones of this Kolkata Knight Riders set-up for a while now, and the duo are certainly favourites to be retained ahead of IPL 2025. The defending champions also have a high chance of retaining Rinku Singh, who may not have had a productive IPL 2024 he would have wanted, but still remains a valuable asset to the team.

Captain Shreyas Iyer showcased his tactical brilliance in KKR’s run to the IPL title, but an underwhelming batting performance might force KKR to rethink their strategy.

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma’s future at Mumbai Indians has been a topic of discussion ahead of next year’s IPL. MI endured one of their worst seasons under controversial skipper Hardik Pandya, finishing last with just eight points, and it’s no doubt that the Indians might be reluctant at releasing Rohit.

Releasing Rohit would leave MI with Rs 60 crore left in the purse and utilize the RTM on a couple of players, maybe Tilak Varma or even Ishan Kishan.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

When it comes to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, it’s no doubt that Virat Kohli would remain on top of the retention list. Faf du Plessis is also another almost certainly obvious name for retention, but Glenn Maxwell’s RCB future might be hanging in the balance after a forgettable 2024 season, where he scored just 52 runs and got six wickets. Question marks also remain on retaining Mohammed Siraj and Yash Dayal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad broke numerous records as they went onto have one of the best seasons with the bat. Openers Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma along with skipper Pat Cummins are frontrunners to be retained.

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings have a huge opportunity to win the IPL 2025 title with head coach Ricky Ponting at the helm. The 2014 finalists would be looking to build a champion side, so much so that the Kings can call themselves title contenders again.

Arshdeep Singh is one of the favourites to be retained along with England’s Liam Livingstone. Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh had impressive campaigns and could be retained as well.

Delhi Capitals

Not long ago, there had been speculations on a possible move to Chennai Super Kings for Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant. However, that move now seems uncertain with the DC reportedly looking to retain the 26 year-old.

Delhi Capitals can also build their top-order around Australia’s Jake Fraser-McGurk, who also looks set to get retained. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel are other names who could extend their stay with DC.

Rajasthan Royals

The Rajasthan Royals will be down to some serious business at the IPL 2025 with new head coach Rahul Dravid. He is someone who would know the franchise inside out, having played for the franchise on numerous occasions.

Dravid and his Rajasthan Royals side will be keen to retain skipper Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jos Buttler, the trio who have formed an integral part of the franchise over the last few years.

Lucknow Super Giants

The major dilemma going into the IPL 2025 auction for the Lucknow Super Giants is if they would retain skipper KL Rahul or not.

We all know what happened between Rahul and franchise owner Sanjeev Goenka last season, due to which the Karnataka batter’s future at the franchise is a question mark. Nicholas Pooran could be retained and also becomes a captaincy candidate should Rahul be released.

Gujarat Titans

Despite missing out on the IPL playoffs for the first-ever time, the Gujarat Titans looks set to retain their skipper Shubman Gill. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan is another player who could get retained. Mohit Sharma last played for India in 2015, and could be retained via the uncapped method. It remains to be seen if Mohammed Shami, who missed IPL 2024 through injury, would be retained.