IPL Retention 2025 Highlights: Kohli most expensive Indian at Rs 21 crore, Punjab retains 110.5 cr for auction; Pant, Rahul released

RCB’s Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat on Thursday said that the franchise wanted to retain Australian Cameron Green but they didn’t opt for it because of the allrounder’s injury that effectively rules him out of the upcoming IPL season.

“There was one other player we certainly would have retained. That’s Cameron Green. But he’s unfortunately out of the IPL due to injury,” Bobat said.

“Jasprit Bumrah should be the highest-paid player in the league and is the best white-ball bowler in the world. He is an absolute gun and the most important component in the Mumbai Indians side. I’m pleased to see he’s getting a bit more than others because he deserves it. I actually like the way they’ve split the salaries among the players. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya have a little bit of bragging rights, but it’s not a huge gap. I think it’s fair and well-balanced. They’ve done a good job of keeping players satisfied while managing funds effectively.”

Rajasthan Royals coach Rahul Dravid on Thursday revealed the reason behind their retention picks, stressing on the fact that a team needs a strong core to compete.

“We have a lot of talented players who have performed well. We trust our talent and we also want to maintain the core and want to build the team around it. We have seen that if you maintain the core, it’s easier to build a team and there’s always a loyalty factor for a franchise that you can’t ignore,” Dravid said after the Royals retained captain Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel and Sandeep Sharma.

“The value Rishabh Pant brings to the team, his energy, his compassion, it’s quite amazing. He’s an all-round figure, a great player, a great captain, and a great wicketkeeper. I feel DC will try and bring back Pant during the auction, using the RTM card.”

Chennai Super Kings: Rs 55 crore

Delhi Capitals: Rs 73 crore

Gujarat Titans: Rs 69 crore

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rs 51 crore

Lucknow Super Giants: Rs 69 crore

Mumbai Indians: Rs 45 crore

Punjab Kings: Rs 110.5 crore

Rajasthan Royals: Rs 41 crore

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rs 83 crore

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Rs 41 crore

Mumbai Indians – Ishan Kishan, Piyush Chawla,
Delhi Capitals – Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma.
Lucknow Super Giants – KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Shivam Mavi.
Kolkata Knight Riders – Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, KS Bharat, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru – Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
Punjab Kings – Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Rahul Chahar,
Rajasthan Royals – R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna.
Chennai Super Kings – Deepak Chahar, Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur.
Sunrisers Hyderabad – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abdul Samad, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan.
Gujarat Titans – Mohammad Shami, Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav.

RCB IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

RR IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

SRH IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

GT IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

PBKS IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

CSK IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

DC IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

KKR IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

MI IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

LSG IPL 2025: Retained and released players list

How Mumbai Indians were able retain their most-sought-after stars after a nightmarish season is a fascinating IPL retention story. Keeping their core together – a collection of proven leaders – at a time when other teams were desperately looking for captains was a coup of sorts for the MI’s backroom staff.

READ: How Mumbai Indians retained Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah

Rohit Sharma's part was crucial in MI retaining three of their other big superstars in Bumrah, Hardik and Suryakumar. Here's what Rohit had to say about being retained for less than the trio.

Here is what the teams will carry forward to the IPL 2025 Mega Auction slated to be held in mid-November. Read More on the purse left for all 10 teams

CSK: None
DC: Abishek Porel
KKR: Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh
LSG: Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni
MI: None
RCB: Yash Dayal
SRH: None
RR: None
PBKS: Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh
GT: Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan

Dhruv Jurel has been retained by Rajasthan Royals at Rs 14 crore. Is that the biggest surprise retention this time? While his much-accomplished RR teammate Riyan Parag has also been retained at the same slab, Jurel is still young in his IPL career, recording over 300 runs across 27 games.

SRH - Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips, Wanindu Hasaranga

RR - Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa

LSG - Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Naveen-ul-Haq

PBKS - Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada

MI - Tim David, Gerald Coetzee

RCB - Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, Cam Green, Will Jacks

GT - David Miller, Kane Williamson, Noor Ahmad

KKR - Mitchell Starc, Phil Salt

CSK - Devon Conway, Mustafizur Rahman, Maheesh Theekshana

DC - Jake Fraser-McGurk, David Warner, Harry Brook, Mitch Marsh, Anrich Nortje

Virat Kohli will return for a 17th year in RCB colours as the most expensive Indian player retained at Rs 21 crore.

Team to retain most players: 6 - Rajasthan Royals (Rs 79 crore spent)

Team to retain least players: 2 - Punjab Kings (Rs 9.5 crore)

Teams to have less than 50 crore purse left: RR (41 crore), MI (45 crore), SRH (45 crore).

Teams to have more than 80 crore purse left: PBKS (Rs 110.5 crore), RCB (Rs 83 crore)

Rajasthan Royals have released their spin twins R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal besides seamers Avesh Khan and Prasidh Krishna.

KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya and Shivam Mavi are the key Indian players released by Lucknow Super Giants. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abdul Samad, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik and T Natarajan are among the key Indian released players from the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad.

In a surprise move, RCB have released Mohammed Siraj while retaining left-arm pacer Yash Dayal. Seamer Akash Deep has also been released by the franchise.

MI have released wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan who was one of their big retentions in the previous cycle. Mumbai have also unloaded a host of their overseas signings, including Tim David. 

Among the big Indian stars from their 2024 squad, Chennai Super Kings have released Deepak Chahar, Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur.

The top 3 most expensive IPL 2025 retentions are:

• Heinrich Klaasen (SRH) - Rs 23 crore
• Nicholas Pooran (LSG) - Rs 21 crore
• Virat Kohli (RCB) - Rs 20 crore

Axar Patel (INR 16.50 crore),

Kuldeep Yadav (INR 13.25 crore),

Tristan Stubbs (INR 10 crore),

Abishek Porel (INR 4 crore)

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)

I am thrilled to be part of Mumbai Indians yet again. I have played so much cricket here. This is the place where I have started my cricket career. So, this city is very, very special.  I am happy to be here. Obviously, when you play for such a long period of 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. We will be looking forward to each other's help. And hopefully, we can turn things around. Mumbai Indians has a rich history of winning trophies, winning games out of unbelievable situations. This is something that everyone who wears the jersey should aim for. Because this is the team that never gives up. 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.

It's a very tough one when you come into a fresh auction and you start retaining players. With Mumbai, we have always tried maintaining a core group of players. Moving forward, I just feel that we can have a good auction and create a group of players who can be match-winners for us. We will put the right foot forward and bring the legacy back where it belongs.

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).

Rashid (INR 18 crore),

Gill (INR 16.50 crore),

Sai Sudharsan (INR 8.50 crore),

Rahul Tewatia (INR 4 crore)

Shahrukh Khan (INR 4 crore).

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).

"It's (Playing for MI) has been fantastic. I have received a lot of love back there and it means the world to me. The reason being that my journey started here. Everything that I've achieved in my life has been part of Mumbai Indians. Playing again, every year is special. I think this year it's going to be a more special year. We remember, as a group, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. All our fans know what happened in those years. We are going to come back in 2025 even stronger than that. You lose and win on the ground. It is just preparation. I like to work hard. I like to prepare well. And I think God has been very kind to me. He put me in situations where I was able to hold my nerves and something special has come out.

"Five people who we all have cherished a lot of good memories together. We are as one. We are five fingers but one fist. That's how I look at it. We are going to come in all guns blazing, with brotherhood, friendship and at the same point of time we are going to back each other no matter what happens," Hardik Pandya was quoted as saying by Mumbai Indians' social media handles.

The IPL 2025 Retention deadline has passed, and several key Indian players, including Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer, have been released and will be available in the upcoming auction. This will significantly impact the IPL 2025 auction, with teams likely bidding aggressively for these top players. (Read more)

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).

Shashank Singh (INR 5.5 crore) 

Prabhsimran Singh (INR 4 crore).

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)

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).

Virat Kohli (INR 21 crore) 

Rajat Patidar (INR 11 crore)

Yash Dayal (INR 5 crore) 

Nicolas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan 

Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmeyar, Dhruv Jurel, Sandeep Sharma, Riyan Parag

Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh

Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Sharukh Khan

Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma, Henrich Klassen, Nitish Reddy, Travis Reddy

Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh

Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristian Stubbs, Abhishek Porel

Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni

Mumbai Indians retentions: Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma

Each franchise has a combined purse of Rs 120 crore for retention and the mega auction. A team can, at most, retain six players – either by holding on to them before the October 31 deadline or the use of RTM cards at the auction. A team also has the option to release all of their players and enter the mega auction with six RTM cards, enabling them an option to buy back players at an unrestricted amount.

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders have chosen to release captain Shreyas Iyer ahead of the upcoming mega auction. Iyer was acquired by KKR in 2022 for ?12.25 crore but missed the entire 2023 season due to injury before returning in 2024. Under his captaincy, KKR placed seventh in 2022 but clinched the championship in 2024.

As things stand, CSK is certain to retain captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana and Dhoni. Whether they do likewise with Ravindra Jadeja would depend on how things unfold till the retention deadline.

Under new head coach Rahul Dravid, Rajasthan Royals are expected to retain their core with captain Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal

“For KKR, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are key, as they remain active in multiple global leagues, not just for KKR. Then there’s Rinku Singh, who adds remarkable stability and has even started bowling occasionally. If they use the RTM, Varun Chakravarthy is an excellent candidate, given his solid performance last season. I think Starc might go to the auctions and in comparison to last year, he might not be able to go for that much of money. I’d also mention Harshit Rana, who’s done well for KKR and could be retained with the RTM if they choose to hold onto a promising Indian pace option.”

Lucknow Super Giants are set to retain Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni. They will now enter the auction with one Right to Match (RTM) option, unless they retain one more player.

With Ricky Ponting joining the franchise as a coach, the franchise might consider building the team from ground up. They might retain Arshdeep Singh. 

A match fee has been introduced for the first time in the history of IPL. Each playing member (including the Impact Player) will get a match fee of Rs 7.5 lakhs per match. This will be in addition to his contracted amount.