While the Indian men and women's cricket team are currently participating in vital assignments, one eye of the cricket fraternity is on the Indian Premier League (IPL) ever since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the retention rules for the 2025 season.

All 10 teams have to announced the list of retained players by 31st October. The league is set for a major overhaul with a mega auction likely to place in November which is set to biggest in the history of the IPL as several top players could be up for grabs.

After months of debate and discussions, BCCI revealed last month that each team can retain a maximum of six players out of which a minimum of one and maximum of two have to be uncapped. There is no limit on the number of Indian or overseas players that have to be retained by each franchise. Moreover, they can retain six players either through retentions or through the Right to Match (RTM) card in the IPL auction.

If a team is retaining their players, they have to retain them for Rs. 18 crore (slot 1 or 4), Rs. 14 crore (Slot 2 and 5), or Rs. 11 crore. Uncapped players can be retained for Rs. 4 crore. Any Indian player, who has not played for the national for the last five years counts as an uncapped player.

Chennai Super Kings: The return of the uncapped player rule has made it possible for CSK to retain MS Dhoni at a cut-price deal, meaning the 43-year-old will return to play the league in 2025. However, his Rs. 4 crore salary mean will mean a massive 66% pay-cut from his Rs. 12 crore deal over the last three seasons. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Matheesha Pathirana, and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to be retained by CSK.

Slot 1 (Rs. 18 crore) - Ruturaj Gaikwda

Slot 2 (Rs. 14 crore) - Shivam Dube

Slot 3 (Rs. 11 crore) - Matheesha Pathirana

Uncapped (Rs. 4 crore) - MS Dhoni

Slot 4 (Rs. 18 crore) - Ravindra Jadeja

RTMs Left - 1

Mumbai Indians: Mumbai Indians have the strongest core of Indian players, and their biggest problem could be convincing all four players to stay, especially with the turmoil last season with all of them having captaincy ambitions. However, it will be surprising if a franchise of their stature let go of any of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, or Suryakumar Yadav.

Bumrah and Hardik are likely to earn the biggest amounts if all four stay with Rohit and Suryakumar in the bracket below. Tilak Verma and Nehal Wadhera were the biggest finds of the last cycle for the franchise, and the five-time champions are likely to retain their services too.

Slot 1 (Rs. 18 crore) - Hardik Pandya

Slot 2 (Rs. 14 crore) - Rohit Sharma

Slot 3 (Rs. 11 crore) - Tilak Verma

Slot 4 (Rs. 18 crore) - Jasprit Bumrah

Slot 5 (Rs. 14 crore) - Suryakumar Yadav

Uncapped (Rs. 4 crore) - Nehal Wadhera

RTMs left - 0

Kolkata Knight Riders: The Kolkata Knight Riders had one of the strongest squads in IPL history in the 2024 season, and their dominant run to the title last season was proof of the same. Unfortunately, the franchise will have to release some players, having already lost the services of mentor Gautam Gambhir.

Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have been with the franchise for more than a decade and will be retained as they remain two of the best T20 players in the world. It will be a surprise if the franchise releases Shreyas Iyer after he captained them to their first title in 2024, while Rinku Singh is another player that the three-time champions should keep hold of. Harshit Rana is among the most talented young pacers in the country, and the franchise will be smart to keep hold of him even if he gets his debut India cap in the ongoing series against Bangladesh.

Slot 1 (Rs. 18 crore) - Andre Russell

Slot 2 (Rs. 14 crore) - Shreyas Iyer

Slot 3 (Rs. 11 crore)/Uncapped (Rs. 4 crore) - Harshit Rana

Slot 4 - (Rs. 18 crore) - Sunil Narine

Slot 5 - (Rs. 14 crore) - Rinku Singh

RTMs left - 0

Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan Royals might not have won a title since 2008, but in the last cycle (2022-2024), they were definitely one of the strongest squads and arguably the most consistent sides, having reached two playoffs (including one final) as well as a fifth place.

The Royals are set to retain their captain Sanju Samson as well as England ODI and T20I skipper Jos Buttler, who have both been long-standing servants of the franchise. Yashasvi Jaiswal is on the path to being the best batter in the world, and it is hard to imagine a situation in which RR releases him. The franchise has backed Riyan Parag through a lot of criticism in the last few years, and this cycle could present the chance to reap the rewards after his breakthrough season and debut for India.

As far as the uncapped slot goes, they have the chance to retain veteran pacer Sandeep Sharma on a cut-price deal

Slot 1 (Rs. 18 crore) - Sanju Samson

Slot 2 (Rs. 14 crore) - Yashasvi Jaiswal

Slot 3 (Rs. 11 crore) - Riyan Parag

Slot 4 (Rs. 18 crore) - Jos Butter

Uncapped (Rs. 4 crore) - Sandeep Sharma

RTMs left - 1

Sunrisers Hyderabad: After a few dull seasons, Sunrisers Hyderabad entertained the world in 2024 with a breathtaking style of play, and the 2016 champions will want to keep hold of the core of the team that reached the final. Pat Cummins, Henrick Klaasen, Travis Head, and Abhishek Sharma are among the best players in the world in the T20I format and should stay with the Hyderabad-based franchise. Nitish Kumar Reddy has emerged as an Indian pace-bowling all-rounder, whose rare profile means the one-time champions will not want to lose him.

Slot 1 (Rs. 18 crore) - Pat Cummins

Slot 2 (Rs. 14 crore) - Abhishek Sharma

Slot 3 (RS. 11 crore) - Nitish Kumar Reddy

Slot 4 (Rs. 18 crore) - Travis Head

Slot 5 (Rs. 14 crore) Heinrick Klaasen

RTMS left - 1 (uncapped)

Gujarat Titans: The Gujarat Titans might have the easiest choices among who to retain, with skipper Shubman Gill and talisman Rashid Khan no-brainer for the highest amount. They could be the only team to retain two players in the uncapped quota, as Rahul Tewatia has never played for India while Mohit Sharma last played in 2015. David Miller, who has been key to their success, is likely to also stay with the franchise.

Slot 1 (Rs. 18 crore) - Shubman Gill

Uncapped slot (Rs. 4 crore) - Rahul Tewatia

Slot 3 (Rs. 11 crore) - David Miller

Slot 4 (Rs. 18 crore) - Rashid Khan

Uncapped slot (Rs. 4 crore) - Mohit Sharma

RTMS Left - 1

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Aiming for a first title, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will retain Virat Kohli, who is the only player to play all 17 seasons for the same team in IPL history. As a premium Indian pacer, Mohammed Siraj is set for a bidding war in the auction, and RCB will better off securing his services beforehand. Rajat Patidar proved to be a true difference maker in the middle order and should stay with the franchise.

Slot 1 (Rs. 18 crore) - Virat Kohli

Slot 2 (Rs. 14 crore) - Mohammed Siraj

Slot 3 (RS. 11 crore) - Rajat Patidar

RTMS Left - 3

Delhi Capitals: The choice of five capped retentions must be one that delighted the Capitals, as many cricket experts had pencilled five key players for the franchise to retain in the post-Ricky Ponting era. India's 2024 T20 World Cup-winning trio Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav will stay at the franchise. While DC are likely to keep hold of Tristan Stubbs and Jake Fraser McGurk, ,they could use the RTM card on them in the auction instead

Slot 1 (Rs. 18 crore) - Rishabh Pant

Slot 2 (Rs. 14 crore) - Axar Patel

Slot 3 (RS. 11 crore) - Kuldeep Yadav

RTMS Left: 3

Punjab Kings: For the nth time, Punjab Kings (PBKS) are set to completely revamp their squad, and apart from star Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh, it will not come as a surprise if the Punjab-based franchise releases all others and tries to buy back some players in the auction with the RTM card or invests in a new group of players in Ricky Ponting's stewardship.

Slot 1 (Rs 18 crore): Arshdeep Singh

RTMS Left: 5

Lucknow Super Giants: The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) broke the bank to sign KL Rahul three years ago as they offered him the captaincy and a stunning sum of Rs. 17 crore in the pre-auction draft, but this time around, it seems unlikely that the Indian star will be retained with his batting style in T20 cricket under the scanner. Rahul's performances with the bat have been underwhelming, and this could force LSG to appoint a new captain.

Nicholas Pooran is among the best T20 players in world cricket and should stay with the franchise. In his short career, Mayank Yadav has shown he is a rare talent, and the Lucknow-based franchise will be better off not letting him go into the auction. Ravi Bishnoi is among the few top-quality wrist spinners in India, and the franchise could tie him up during the retentions, having earlier purchased him before the mega auction in 2022. Ayush Badoni has been extremely consistent for LSG over the last three seasons, and the right-handed batter can be retained as the uncapped player.

Slot 1 (Rs. 18 crore) - Nicholas Pooran

Slot 2 (Rs. 14 crore) - Ravi Bishnoi

Slot 3 (RS. 11 crore) - Mayank Yadav

Uncapped (Rs. 4 crore) - Ayush Badoni

RTMS Left - 2

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