The IPL 2025 retentions
Going through the retentions for the 10 teams.
Lucknow Super Giants released their captain, which was big news. But so did Delhi Capitals, and that was more of a surprise. Royal Challengers Bangalore did not retain their experienced leader. Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders also chose not to keep theirs. Half the teams in the league did not retain their captains.
It tells you a bit about the mega auction's small retention pool and how silly it is. In order to keep MS Dhoni in their side, Chennai Super Kings had to get a new rule invented—and it makes little sense. But the retentions are as interesting as ever, and give us an idea what each team is planning.
- Rajasthan Royals
Is this the end of Rajasthan Royals' five-bowler lineups? They committed to one bowler, and it is not a big name player—though Sandeep was a nice steal in terms of pay here. Instead, it is all batting, and I like the idea here—Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel. Jurel is getting a huge pay rise here. His wage last year was INR 20 lakh. He had a decent season last year, but his true strike rate was -14.
Jos Buttler is the big dump here. Last year he made two hundreds, but with his age, recent injuries and other Indian top-order batters on their team, I can see the hesitancy. Shimron Hetmyer is younger too. That might be a mistake this season, but if you look at the age profile of the players they have here, it makes a lot of sense for the future. So it could be a decision that can go either way.
Yuzvendra Chahal took 18 wickets last year, but he went at an economy of over nine. The main reason is that Chahal takes wickets in the four to five metre length. He conceded 6.8 and 8.5 runs per over bowling that length in 2022 and 2023 respectively, but went for 10.72 runs per over delivering it in 2024. Moving on from Trent Boult and R Ashwin is probably an age thing again.
It’s a shame that old pros are moved on quickly from their teams because of the mega auctions. Another unfortunate effect of these constant IPL resets is that a team which had the talent to win a title—like Delhi in the previous cycle—doesn’t win one, and now they have to start over. I don’t see how that benefits the league in the long run.
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru
They have paid a lot of money for a 36-year-old Virat Kohli, who has been very good in the last two seasons. If he struggles or even retires, they are in trouble. He seems to be aiming to see this cycle out, but that is not how things always end up. But he was automatic. Other than him, they only retained two players. That my friends, is a rebuild. Remember, they made the playoffs in 2022 and 2024.
Green is 25, and had a decent all-round year. Mo Bobat said that they would have almost certainly retained him, had he not been injured. Will Jacks and Faf du Plessis are gone too. Jacks has been out of form since the IPL, while Faf has had good seasons in the MLC and CPL—where he led the St. Lucia Kings to a title. However, Jacks seems to be the better choice for the future. Age is a factor when we talk about Glenn Maxwell too, and his athleticism is clearly on the wane. It will be interesting to see if they bring any of them back using the RTM.
Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal were the two slam dunks they just had to retain, and they made sure to keep both. So if they were unsure with everything else, this is the right move. I wonder if keeping Mahipal Lomror or Anuj Rawat around made sense. Their numbers are not great so far, but a 28-year-old version of these players on a low contract might be worth it.
What about the quicks? They had two international seamers in Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, and they did not retain either. Siraj was bad in 2022, good in 2023, and average last year. They could have retained him, but maybe not for the money it might cost them. To get him back on the roster, they can use the RTM. Akash has only played eight matches in three seasons. However, with several Indian and overseas bowlers available in the mega auction, they can assemble a good bowling attack.
I like the fact that they did not look at their roster and think they are close, despite making the playoffs. That's smart planning. And how often do you say that about RCB?
- Delhi Capitals
Pretty hard snub on David Warner here. Obviously, Rishabh Pant is leaving because of captaincy. It is a whole part of cricket that other sports do not have to deal with. Clearly, Delhi should have kept Pant as a player, and now they have no senior batters left at all. They did not make the playoffs last year, and this is not the start they would have wanted.
Delhi kept Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, so that means they have still have strength in the middle. They did get rid of all the seamers, but I am not sure who I would have kept. With Khaleel Ahmed turning 26, I might have thought about him staying around. Tristan Stubbs is their third capped retention, and Abishek Porel is a 22-year-old wicketkeeper with a good year behind him, so I like that.
But, my guys, where is Jake Fraser-McGurk? He is 22, and he fell into their hands by accident. I understand the McGurk hype train has slowed, quite literally. But he scored at well over two runs a ball in the IPL—he had a true strike rate of 70.
Other than Porel, he was the best thing to happen to Delhi in the last cycle. And now he’s not retained? Am I missing something here? They can RTM him, but surely he’s going for a lot of money. He feels like a Punjab Kings overpay waiting to happen.
Overall, this feels a little like RCB. They looked around and realised not much was working, so they started again. But while they did not make the playoffs even once in the last cycle, they did have some talent. It is a bit strange not to see them keeping all of it.
- Gujarat Titans
They kept Rashid Khan, which seems obvious, but we have seen a side mess that up before. Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan are no brainers, so they have two young top-order players under contract. The only issue is that at the moment, they are both anchors. If you were preparing for the league eight years ago, this would be incredible. But two players who fit the age and talent profile are nice to have.
Mohammed Shami is probably out because of his age and fitness. It took him years to get really good at T20, and he did not play the last season. I still think he should get a good deal in the auction, as will David Miller. He is still a handy player, but with a decent but unspectacular year behind him at the age of 35, I am okay with them moving on. But they could still RTM him.
Rahul Tewatia's numbers have been solid, even though he does not make as many runs. But batters of that role in the league have higher strike rates now. I would have just kept one out of him and Shahrukh Khan—maybe the latter, just because I think he can score faster.
I like the idea of going with the talent, but it’s a lot of guys who do the same thing—two anchors, two middle age hitters and their gun spinner coming off his worst season. It’s not quite a rebuild, and it’s not quite youth.
- Mumbai Indians
They start from a position of strength—with the best Indian batter, bowler and allrounder in India (or even the world?) on paper. As easy as it gets. Rohit Sharma's batting returns in the IPL have been quite mediocre since 2017. If they get the Rohit India saw, it’s not the end of the world. But over a three-year cycle, is it the best idea to invest on a 37-year-old? Retaining Tilak Varma was a no brainer.
That means they are one of three teams only to retain Indians, and they do that with a pretty good core. Despite them being terrible last season, this is a pretty good lineup to rebuild from. They can also RTM one of Nehal Wadhera, Akash Madhwal or Anshul Kamboj.
What about Ishan Kishan? They invested in him for the long run, yet they have moved on. I am okay with this, from a form perspective. But the next four years are probably going to be his peak. So if they believed in him all those years, will they try to buy him back?
They also had two overseas seam options in Gerald Coetzee and Nuwan Thushara. I think the Sri Lankan is someone you can let go, but Coetzee's partnership with Bumrah could have been really good. The South African is a strike bowler who takes wickets, and Mumbai Indians love that and left-arm seam.
