 "MS Dhoni is yet to commit to his future at Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL Retention Deadline. AP")
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to dominate headlines as well as social media trends once again even though the 18th season will be taking place months from now. The IPL Governing Council has, after all, set Thursday, 31 October as the deadline for franchises to submit their list of retained players ahead of what will be a second mega auction in the league in less than three years.
As for the auction itself, it reportedly will take place in the Middle East for a second year in a row either before or around the same time as the first Test between India and Australia in Perth, with some suggesting it will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 24 and 25 November.
The BCCI has allowed franchises to retain up to six players from their existing squad in various retention slabs, either through direct retention or by using the Right To Match (RTM) card – which makes a comeback to this year’s auction after last being used ahead of the 2017 auction.
Ahead of the retention deadline, we take a look at all the rumours that have been doing the rounds on social media, from players likely to get retained to those who might get released into the auction pool and possibly brought back later using the RTM card:
Dhoni’s future at CSK?
The single biggest talking point ahead of the IPL retention deadline has been that of MS Dhoni and whether he intends to represent Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for one more season in the world’s richest T20 league or not.
The BCCI had brought back an old rule that would allow players who had been retired from international cricket for more than five years to be retained as an ‘uncapped’ player, and many believed this rule was brought back especially for MSD, who had stepped down as CSK captain ahead of the 2024 season.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDhoni, however, is yet to commit to his future with CSK as per the latest reports. “We have still no confirmation from him, though we will like him to continue playing for us. Hope he will confirm before 31st (October),” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan had told ESPNCricinfo recently.
Rohit to stay in MI?
Rohit Sharma was widely believed to have made his final appearance in the iconic blue and gold jersey earlier this year after Mumbai Indians stripped him of captaincy and appointed Hardik Pandya, whom they had acquired in a high-profile trade from Gujarat Titans, in his place. Rohit had even received a standing ovation from the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium after walking back to the dugout during MI’s final game of the season against Lucknow Super Giants.
However, reports suggest that Rohit might extend his stay at the franchise that he had helped win the league five times as captain. As per a report on The Indian Express, the ‘Hitman’ is likely to be one of MI’s four retentions alongside skipper Hardik Pandya, India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
Rahul set to part ways with LSG
Even though Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka had described captain KL Rahul as “family”, the franchise is unlikely to retain the wicketkeeper-batter going forward. Not only did LSG fail to reach the playoffs for the first time last season after having done so on debut in 2022 as well as in 2023, Rahul also faced criticism for his scoring rate even though he continued to score runs at a decent average.
According to IANS, the feeling is mutual as Rahul too wants to join the auction pool instead of being retained by the franchise. “There has been a strong word going around that Rahul really wants to enter the mega auction, as LSG may not retain him. Based on the outcomes from various discussions in terms of who will be retained or what price the retentions would be, one shouldn’t be surprised if Rahul enter the auction list,” a source told the news agency.
According to ESPNCricinfo, the franchise is likely to retain explosive West Indian wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran, whom they might appoint captain if Rahul ends up parting ways with the franchise for good. Express pacer Mayank Yadav and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi are some of the other players likely to get retained by Lucknow.
Pant leaves fans buzzing with midnight post
Rishabh Pant’s future as Delhi Capitals skipper has also been under the scanner recently after the India wicketkeeper-batter was reported to have had several talks with the franchise management, who have made sweeping changes to their backroom staff by roping in Hemang Badani and Venugopal Rao as head coach and Director of Cricket respectively.
Read | Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer likely to enter IPL 2025 mega auction; RCB eyes DC star
Pant was initially set to be retained by the Capitals along with the likes of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Tristan Stubbs.
However, a cryptic midnight post in which he asked fans how much he would fetch in the auction suggests he isn’t entirely happy at DC and intends to move on to other franchises. That or he’s sending a subtle message to the DC management for a pay hike.
Klaasen among SRH’s picks
Sunrisers Hyderabad had built quite the formidable squad last season with Pat Cummins guiding the ‘Orange Army’ to the final for the first time in six years in his maiden season in charge. It was quite the comeback for a team that had been languishing in the bottom half of the table in recent seasons, collecting the wooden spoon in a couple of them, and also had a leadership crisis after years of stability under David Warner.
A key reason behind their success last season was their formidable top-order, particularly their opening combination of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, a.k.a. ‘Travishek’ and the presence of Heinrich Klaasen in the middle order.
According to ESPNCricinfo, SRH are likely to retain Klaasen and Abhishek along side skipper Cummins and are yet to make a final decision on Head and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who had made quite the impact in the middle-order alongside Klaasen, but could bring them back via RTM later.