The highly anticipated IPL retention deadline day was filled with excitement as franchises made strategic decisions regarding which players to retain and release ahead of the upcoming mega-auction in November. A total of 45 players, including some prominent names, were released, while surprising choices were made to retain certain players, with franchises investing significant amounts from their 120 crore auction purse.
South African cricketer Heinrich Klaasen emerged as the highest-paid player, surpassing Virat Kohli, with a retention value of Rs 23 crore for the upcoming IPL season.
Punjab Kings head into the auction with the largest purse of Rs 110.5 crore and hold four RTM (Right To Match) cards after retaining two players, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh, for a total of Rs 9.5 crore.
Notable players released include Rishabh Pant, ending his nine-year association with Delhi Capitals. Meanwhile, former KKR captain Shreyas Iyer, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis, and RR icon Jos Buttler are back in the auction pool.
While some big names like MS Dhoni, Andre Russell, and Pat Cummins accepted pay cuts to stay with their teams, lesser-known players received significant pay raises.
Rajasthan Royals' Dhruv Jurel saw a staggering 6900 per cent increase in his salary, going from Rs 20 lakh in IPL 2024 to Rs 14 crore after being retained by the team. In addition to Jurel, RR also retained Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, and Sandeep Sharma for the upcoming season.
In the upcoming season, the players' salaries are set to increase significantly in 2025. Matheesha Pathirana of CSK is also set to experience a significant increase, with his salary jumping from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 13 crore, a gain of 6400 per cent.
Rajat Patidar of RCB, Mayank Yadav of LSG, and Sai Sudharsan of GT will all see their salaries increase by 5400 per cent, 5400 per cent, and 4150 per cent respectively. Shashank Singh of PBKS will experience a gain of 2650 percent, with his salary increasing from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 5.5 crore. Rinku Singh of KKR will see a gain of 2264 per cent, with his salary rising from Rs 55 lakh to Rs 13 crore.
In the midst of it all, the Mumbai Indians made the strategic decision to retain all of their key players for the upcoming season. This includes their captain, Hardik Pandya, as well as national team captains Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. Additionally, they secured the talents of pace star Jasprit Bumrah and rising star Tilak Varma. This move resulted in the team utilizing their entire retention purse of Rs 75 crore.
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