New Delhi, Nov 1 (Representative) In a dramatic twist ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction, cricket fans were treated to a series of unexpected player retention and release decisions announced by all ten franchises on Thursday.Among the notable names retained were superstars Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen, and Nicholas Pooran, all of whom will remain with their respective teams for the upcoming season.Conversely, the list of released players featured some high-profile departures, including Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Mitchell Starc, and KL Rahul, who will now enter the auction pool. Each team had the opportunity to retain a maximum of five capped players, two uncapped players, and a total of six players overall. Teams that opted to retain fewer players will benefit from additional Right-to-Match (RTM) options and a larger budget for the auction. Punjab Kings took a unique approach by retaining only two uncapped players, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh, without retaining any capped players. They will have four RTM options available for the mega auction. Mumbai Indians, the five-time champions, maintained a strong core by retaining five capped players: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Tilak Varma, without any uncapped players.
Kolkata Knight Riders, the defending champions, surprised fans by releasing their title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer while retaining all six players: mystery spinner Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, and Harshit Rana.Rajasthan Royals followed suit, also utilizing all six of their retentions, while franchises like Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants, Punjab Kings, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru opted to part ways with their captains from the previous season, paving the way for fresh talent at the auction.In a noteworthy move, Chennai Super Kings retained former Indian captain MS Dhoni in the uncapped player category. According to IPL retention rules, players who have not participated in international cricket over the last five years are classified as uncapped. As the mega auction approaches, the strategies employed by each team will be closely scrutinised, setting the stage for what promises to be an exhilarating IPL 2025 season.