IPL Retention Latest Buzz: Shreyas reportedly holds talks with KKR management; Dhoni drops major hint on future

The 10 franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be unveiling their list of retained players a little over 48 hours from now, with the BCCI having earlier set 5 pm on Thursday, 31 October as the deadline . The IPL had set 26 November as the retention deadline last year with the auction taking place on 19 December in Dubai.

However, with the mega auction for IPL 2025 set to take place towards the end of November, reportedly in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , the board has decided to set the last day of October as the last day for teams to finalise their retention picks.

Read | List of players expected to be retained by the franchises on deadline day

The IPL will thus undergo a second reset in three years with the mega auction previously having taken place in 2022, when Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants were introduced as the two new franchises.

However, the IPL Governing Council has allowed franchises to retain up to six players – the most in the league’s history – ahead of this year’s mega auction, either via direct retention or Right To Match (RTM) in the auction itself, in order to allow franchises to retain the core group of their players.

With two days to go for the IPL retention deadline, we take a look at the latest buzz on what is among the top trends on social media:

Shreyas Iyer in talks with KKR management

Rumours suggested Shreyas Iyer was on his way out less than a year after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to their third title , with several other franchises interested in getting him on board as their skipper. However, according to a report on The Times Of India, Iyer had a meeting with the KKR top brass on Sunday, which perhaps is a sign that the franchise might be interested in retaining their skipper after all.

The Knight Riders are spoilt for choices at the moment after several members of their existing squad made important contributions throughout the season. The three-time champions are reportedly interested in retaining veteran West Indian all-rounders Andre Russell and Sunil Narine as well as middle-order batter Rinku Singh and leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer and uncapped players Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh are also high on their retention priority list, making it difficult for the Knight Riders to retain Iyer.

Dhoni drops a major hint on his future with CSK

There had been an air of uncertainty over MS Dhoni’s future with the Chennai Super Kings and whether the 43-year-old was done with the league once and for all or whether he had one more season left in him.

Dhoni, however, virtually confirmed his participation in the 18th edition of the IPL in recent comments, allowing the CSK team management to heave a sigh of relief after weeks of suspense.

“I just want to enjoy whatever last few years of cricket I am able to play,” Dhoni had told The Times of India.

“The emotions keep coming, the commitments are there. I want to enjoy the game for the next few years. I have to keep myself fit for nine months, so that I can play two and a half months of IPL. You need to plan it out, but at the same time chill a bit,” added ‘Thala’, who had stepped down from captaincy last season, allowing Ruturaj Gaikwad to take over.

“When he is ready, what else (do) we want. We are happy,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told Cricbuzz after Dhoni’s latest comments.

Parthiv Patel set for a coaching role

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel, who represented six different IPL franchises including CSK (2008 to 2010) and Mumbai Indians (2015 to 2017), is set for his maiden coaching role in the league.

According to ESPNCricinfo, Patel is set to join the Gujarat Titans coaching staff led by head coach Ashish Nehra in the 18th season of the league, with an official announcement expected from the franchise in the coming days. Patel is expected to carry out multiple roles including assistant coach and talent scout. As per TOI, he will also be the team’s batting mentor.

Patel will primarily fill the void left behind by former India head coach Gary Kirsten, who had served as team mentor until the 17th season earlier this year, before joining Pakistan as their white-ball coach.