NEW DELHI: The excitement surrounding the IPL retention list sets the stage for the upcoming auction as franchises prepare to solidify their squads for the 2025 season. Each team faces the critical challenge of balancing retention strategies with auction dynamics to enhance their competitive edge. The Rajasthan Royals are committed to their young core, aiming for long-term growth. Meanwhile, the Kolkata Knight Riders are focusing on a blend of youth and experience to maintain their competitive edge, while the Mumbai Indians have chosen to retain superstars of Indian cricket, ensuring their legacy continues. Here’s a closer look at the strategies of these three franchises.
Rajasthan Royals
Last year’s number three ranked team, the Rajasthan Royals, were very keen on getting back the core that they had been building for some years now, with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal (18 crore), Riyan Parag (14 crore), and Dhruv Jurel (14 crore) being prospects that the team had backed for a long time, and the next three seasons would be the ideal time to get the desired returns of these investments. Alongside these three, the Royals from Rajasthan have also retained their Captain Sanju Samson (18 crore), with the batter scoring a brilliant maiden international T20 I hundred in the T201 series against Bangladesh. He again has shown his prowess, Sandeep Sharma (4 crore), because the only uncapped Indian two have been remained by franchise, while West Indian finisher Shimron Hetmyer (11 crore) became the only foreign retention.
With a purse of 41 crore remaining and no RTM options available, the royals will look to strengthen their spin department. With the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal not being retained, it feels certain that the franchise would want to get them at a cheaper price at the auction if not looking at any other option.
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Kolkata Knight Riders
The last-year Champions, the Knight Riders from Kolkata, have gone with a balance of both youth as well as experience when it came to the retention, as they have retained their veteran West Indian duo of Sunil Narine (12 crore) and Andre Russell (12 crore). Both of them have been an integral part of the franchise for almost over a decade, so this decision was something the fans were a bit skeptical of as well due to age not being on the sides of these veterans. While Narine’s partner in the spin department for several years in the franchise, Varun Chakravarthy (12 crore), was also retained by the franchise. The lower-order batter, who usually partners Andre Russell in the middle of the park, Rinku Singh (13 crore), became the first retention of the franchise. The list also consists of two uncapped Indian young guns, Harshit Rana (4 crore) and Ramandeep Singh (4 crore).
With their lower order and spin department pact, the franchise will look to find a good captaincy option as their former captain Shreyas Iyer has not been retained, and Gautam Gambhir taking up the position of India Coach the next season will give a good glimpse of the change in the leadership department of the team. The team would look to get some top-order batting options as well as some other foreign and Indian fast bowling options, with the likes of Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, and Mitchel Starc not being retained.
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Mumbai Indians
One of the most successful IPL franchises, the Mumbai Indians, have managed to get their core group of Indian Stars in tacked in the retention as they were able to retain arguably the best all-format bowler Jasprit Bumrah (18 crore) as their first retention, while the current T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav (16.35 crore) and current franchise captain Hardik Pandya (16.35 crore) became the second and third retentions.
The T20 world cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma (16.30 crore) still staying at the franchise irrespective of speculations of him leaving after last year’s ruckus signifies that all is well between him and the management. The middle-order batter Tilak Verma (8 crore) became the last player to be retained by the franchise.
The auction strategy of the franchise will be simple to develop a good bowling core; he could accompany Bumrah and help them have a good IPL stint next year. MI will look to rope in foreign players in the fast bowling department as that has been their template for many years, and the retention list of all Indian players also indicated towards them going big at the auction for foreign fast bowlers. Alongside this, they would require an opener as well, which would accompany Rohit at the top, and a spin bowling as well, which could replace Piyush Chawla.