Rajasthan Royals (RR) made some bold moves and released ace players like Jos Buttler, Yuzvendra Chahal, and R Ashwin ahead of IPL 2025. The franchise retained Sanju Samson (18 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (18 crore), Riyan Parag (14 crore), Dhruv Jurel (14 crore), Shimron Hetmyer (11 crore), Sandeep Sharma (4 crore).

Rajasthan Royals performed admirably well in the last few years, with the team reaching the playoffs twice in the last four editions, and the trio of Buttler, Ashwin, and Chahal played a significant role in the team's success. However, with just six retentions allowed, the franchise had to take some harsh decisions.

Rahul Dravid, the newly appointed Rajasthan Royals coach, reflected on the retentions and revealed that captain Sanju Samson had a big role to play in decisions, adding that it was hard work for Samson to let go of players who he built a strong relationship with.

“Sanju had a big role to play in these retentions. He faced a lot of difficulty, too. As a captain, he has build a lot of relationships with these players. We are very sad for the players we couldn't retain, and Sanju has worked with these players for 5-6 years now,” Dravid said after the retention list was announced.

“He has had balanced views on these retentions. He has taken the trouble to understand the dynamics of it, charting out the pros and cons. He has discussed a lot with us on this, and it wasn't an easy decision. We had a lot of debates, but in the end, we are happy with the team that we have and we wanted to retain as many as possible.”

Chahal picked 18 wickets in 15 matches for the RR in IPL 2024 and was the team's second-highest wicket-taker. He was outstanding in IPL 2023 as well and bagged 21 wickets. Buttler, on the other hand, has been consistent for the franchise and scored two hundreds in IPL 2024. Ashwin didn't have great stats but he formed a formidable partnership with Chahal and created situations for the leg spinner to pick wickets.

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