3 teams who will be happy with 8 retentions for IPL mega auction in 2025 ft. Rajasthan Royals
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reportedly invited all 10 franchises to a meeting on April 16 in Ahmedabad. However, as the Gujarat Titans-Delhi Capitals game in Ahmedabad had been postponed by a day, the meeting was delayed as well.
BCCI president Roger Binny, Secretary Jay Shah, and IPL chairman Arun Singh Dhumal are likely to attend the meeting, reportedly called for discussion on policy decisions, relating to the mega-auction in 2025.
Many teams have put forward their view of increasing the number of retentions before the auctions, with some suggesting that it should be eight. However, some franchises are opposed to these many retentions and instead want to be allowed more Right to Match (RTM) options. Moreover, the total purse amount of franchises in the auction has also been a big point of discussion in recent years.
On that note, let's take a look at three teams that will be satisfied with eight retentions for the IPL 2025 mega auction.
1) Kolkata Knight Riders
The Kolkata Knight Riders have built a solid squad for the IPL 2024. With the presence of Chandrakant Pandit and Gautam Gambhir, their positive intent has helped them start well in this season. So far, KKR have secured three victories in four appearances.
Below are possible retentions by KKR for next year:
Batters: Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi
All-rounders: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine
Bowlers: Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana and Suyash Sharma
Overall, things look interesting for the Knight Riders, and they have created a huge fanbase with the current set of players.
2) Rajasthan Royals
The Rajasthan-based franchise have been one of the finest teams in the last few seasons of the cash-rich league. They emerged as a runner-up in 2021, while finishing fifth in the last season. Currently, they are the table-toppers with wins in all four games.
Possible retentions by RR:
Batters: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel
Bowlers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal
The Royals have a terrific mix of experienced and young players, who have been playing well as a combined unit, resulting in their success. As a result, they are expected to be the most happy team if they are allowed as many as eight retentions.
3) Sunrisers Hyderabad
Under the leadership of Australian pacer, Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad have been one of the teams to watch out for in the IPL 2024. In particular, after registering the highest-ever IPL total of 277, the attacking mindset of their batters has impressed onlookers.
Possible retentions by SRH:
Batters: Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head
All-rounders: Nitish Reddy
Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan
With three wins in five games, SRH are looking strong to be one of the playoff teams this year. If the team is available to achieve this feat for the first time after 2020, most of the players are likely to be retained by the franchise.