Kolkata: With the IPL retention window closing on Thursday, negotiations between franchises and top players are expected to enter the final stages. A franchise can retain a maximum of six players, either by signing them or through the Right-To-Match (RTM) card during the mega auction, expected to be held in the second half of November. A maximum of five players can be capped whereas up to two retained players can be uncapped. Overall, each franchise will have a purse of ₹120 crore to build a squad for IPL 2025 but the final budget will depend on how they go about their retention strategy.

Some retentions are predictable. Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Pat Cummins and Rashid Khan are expected to continue with their respective sides but some names have generated hype ahead of the deadline. Top among them is Rishabh Pant whose cryptic social media post: “If I go to the auction, will I be sold or not, and for how much?” has triggered conjecture that he might be open to head to another franchise as captain. Here are the other major talking points so far.

Dhoni now an uncapped player

Weird but true, and it’s happening after the IPL Governing Council revived a rule last month that makes a player (Indian only) uncapped if his last international appearance came five years ago.

Since Dhoni last played in the 2019 ODI World Cup, this decision is perceived to be tailor-made for CSK to hold on to Dhoni while not spending too much on him. According to rules, uncapped players can be retained for a maximum of ₹4 crore.

Apart from Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja should be the top pick, followed by Ruturaj Gaikwad. It remains to be seen what strategy CSK adopts in the case of Shivam Dube who was CSK’s middle-overs enforcer last season. Among the overseas players, Matheesha Pathirana is most likely to be retained but the big-ticket retention could be Rachin Ravindra who is currently on a dream tour of India.

Rohit to stay back?

There were reports that Rohit could leave after last year’s disappointing finish under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy but that could change, especially after the reappointment of Mahela Jayawardene as head coach. Jayawardene and Rohit Sharma were a hit combination for MI, delivering three IPL titles between 2017 and 2022 when he was coach. The Sri Lankan is expected to have a say in the retention, though it shouldn’t affect Pandya’s captaincy considering MI’s history of allowing new leaders ample time to settle in.

Sharma has just led India to a T20 World Cup win, and it was evident last season how Mumbai’s sentiments still ride high when it comes to him. Purely from the experience point of view, Sharma should be retained, as should Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav apart from Pandya. But the other two picks could be tricky. Tilak Varma, singled out as a potential performer for MI, could be the franchise’s fifth pick. And among the uncapped players, Nehal Wadhera has the edge.

New horizons for KL Rahul

An expected development, prompted largely because of his batting issue. All four of his IPL hundreds have come opening the innings, but the 136.92 strike rate at that position is a disservice to the ever-evolving idea of T20 batting. There were reports RCB could be interested in him, but for now Rahul would be eager to make himself available and test the waters. That Lucknow Super Giants are set to release him is more or less clear given how new mentor Zaheer Khan has reportedly expressed concerns about Rahul’s performance.

LSG should be pretty convinced about their retentions as well. Among the overseas players, Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis are no-brainer picks unless they want to exercise the RTM card option for one of them at the auctions. Among Indians, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan should be the other picks. Ideally, they would want an Indian international to lead the side, but Rahul isn’t in their sight.

The KKR dilemma

Such are their average percentage returns per season that current champions KKR would be tempted to retain Andre Russell and Sunil Narine even if they are not available for all the games. Then there’s Varun Chakaravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer, both value for money Indian players over the years. Add to this Rinku Singh and Phil Salt—easily the two most destructive batters for KKR in the recent past—and KKR have a real problem regarding accommodating Shreyas Iyer.

Iyer has had more prolific seasons before, but his 2024 strike rate (146.86) too has been his career-best. That apart, Iyer’s on-field decisions too were on point even though Gautam Gambhir was believed to be the chief strategist behind the scenes. But KKR need a captain and Iyer still remains their best bet. Which would mean they will face a tough choice over Russell, Narine and Salt if they retain Shreyas, Venkatesh, Rinku and Chakaravarthy.

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