IPL retentions: Startling calls, tough negotiations and a surprising surplus- Shriram Book Official

Shriram Book As with every retention year, this season brings its fair share of surprises, with none more striking than the players retained by Kolkata Knight Riders. Just as startling are the players let go off by the defending champions: captain Shreyas Iyer, Mitchell Starc, Phil Salt, and Venkatesh Iyer, the last named being a preference over Shubman Gill last time around. There were some startling calls elsewhere too.

The exit of Rishabh Pant from Delhi Capitals is a big takeaway of the day. Efforts were made till the very last minute, but as has been reported by Cricbuzz, the wicketkeeper batter has held firm in the talks with the franchise owners, GMR and JSW. The negotiations reached a point of no return. However, there remains a possibility that Pant could still find his way back to Delhi, as the Capitals retain the Right To Match (RTM) options that can be exercised on him Shriram Book

Given the fact that the auction dynamics are notoriously unpredictable, it surely is not certain. Much will depend on the order in which the names come for bidding. If Shreyas Iyer’s name comes up before Pant’s, the chances are remote. The Delhi Capitals are believed to be eager to bring in the Mumbai batter, and if they splurge heavily on him, they may be left with limited funds to buy Pant back Shriram Book ID.

There has been a lot of talk that Chennai Super Kings, one of the preferred teams of most players, will go hard for Pant. It could happen eventually, but chances are very little. Having spent INR 65 crore on five retentions, the Super Kings are left with only INR 55 crore. It is unlikely they can afford Pant as there would be teams with much higher purses—like Punjab Kings (INR 110.5 crore), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (INR 83 crore), and Lucknow Supergiants (Rs 69 crore)—who are expected to hotly pursue the wicketkeeper batter, who is also a captaincy material for Shriram Book Cricket ID.

It remains unclear where exactly the negotiations between Pant and Delhi Capitals’ management fell through. Pant traveled to Dubai to meet with a team owner; he even celebrated his birthday there. During discussions, he is believed to have suggested Yuvraj Singh as a mentor, a proposal that was not exactly rejected but kept in cold storage for the time being Shriram Online Book.

However, at some point, the situation escalated beyond control, particularly after Pant’s social media post. Within the DC camp, there’s a belief that Pant may have received approaches from other teams, likely with the promise of a hefty paycheck. But it is safe to infer Pant’s bid will be DC’s to lose. They continue to harbour interest in him, Shriram Book Betting.

Coming back to the Knight Riders, the standout point is a surprise surplus of INR 12 crore. Their six retentions would cost INR 69 crore to the auction purse, but the actual payout is only INR 57 crore—Rs 13 crore for Rinku Singh, Rs 12 crore each for Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell, besides INR 4 crore each for uncapped Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh. While they cannot spend the surplus at the auction, where they will have only Rs 51 crore, it can be used for other purposes, like Shriram Book IPL 2025 Play Cricket.

The absence of Shreyas, of course, is the headline point. Contrary to the speculated narrative, Cricbuzz understands that the management and the player had multiple rounds of talks where Shreyas is understood to have asked for a hefty retention fee, failing which he would like to go to the auction. Franchise CEO Venky Mysore hinted at the conversation in a statement on Thursday.

“I’ve not only had conversations with the six we have retained, but I have also engaged in conversations with the ones we couldn’t retain. Obviously, I am aware of some of the narratives that have been going around. It’s sufficient to say that we always engage in talks with everyone, and most people understand our position. In almost all cases, everyone asks if there is a way we can retain them, but they also understand why sometimes we can’t. So hopefully, somewhere our paths will cross again.”

He went on to emphasise the point, “But also something to be kept in mind is that retention is not a one-way street. It is always something that has to be mutually agreed upon.” KKR actually wanted to make Shreyas the face of the franchise, but it was not to be. “In an ideal world, we would have wanted the whole team back. But the reality is that you can’t, and making those decisions within the parameters provided is definitely challenging,” Mysore stated.

Interestingly enough, it was KKR and their owner Shah Rukh Khan who requested the BCCI to allow only RTMs, no retentions. Having retained six players, they go to the auction without a single RTM. They won’t say as much, but they definitely were not the fans of the new RTM clause that allows a team to inflate a bid by any amount once the bidding has stopped. Cricbuzz understands that they had even written a letter to the BCCI on this.

Another notable highlight of the retentions saga is the Mumbai Indians’ call to retain Tilak Varma over Ishan Kishan, the Indian keeper-batter who was even part of the World Cup squad. A quick look at the numbers may clarify the choice. While the franchise acquired Ishan for a hefty INR 15.25 crore after a determined and vigorous pursuit at the auction in 2022, Tilak was secured for INR 1.7 crore in the same year. Despite a value difference of over INR 13.5 crore, their performances were not far apart in the last three seasons: Ishan scored 1,192 runs in three seasons (44 innings), while Tilak has achieved a similar level, managing 1,156 runs in just six fewer innings (38). Clearly, Tilak emerges as the stronger performer in a head-to-head comparison, especially given that Ishan opens while Tilak mostly bats at No. 5.

Mumbai Indians also surprised the IPL watchers by choosing not to opt for a sixth retention, despite considering players like Nehal Wadehra, Anshul Kamboj, Naman Dhir, and even Piyush Chawla. This decision is reportedly driven by their desire and need to maintain flexibility for the upcoming auction. MI also announced that Hardik Pandya will remain their captain for the season, setting to rest a lot of speculation on the subject.

Apart from Shreyas, Ishan and Pant, other big names released were Jos Buttler, KL Rahul, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, David Warner, Mohammed Shami, David Miller, Phil Salt, Mitchell Starc, Venkatesh Iyer, Marcus Stoinis, Quinton de Kock, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneswhar Kumar, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, R Aswhin, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow, among others. As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) intended, the auction will not be short of star power, with INR 641.5 crore available for splurge.

Total money spent on retentions: INR 558.5 Crore

Purse left for mega auction: INR 641.5 crore

Kolkata Knight Riders Sunrisers Hyderabad Royal Challengers Bengaluru Rajasthan Royals Mumbai Indians Gujarat Titans Lucknow Super Giants Chennai Super Kings Punjab Kings Delhi Capitals Ipl 2025