The BCCI rolled out the retention guidelines for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season last week, and now the ball is in the franchises' court to make the tricky decisions.
Each of the 10 IPL teams can retain up to six cricketers, through the retention and Right To Match (RTM) option. The auction purse for the franchises has been set at INR 120 crore.
The first three retentions will see the auction purse being reduced by Rs 18 crore, Rs 14 crore and Rs 11 crore, respectively. However, the two other additional retentions will cost more than the third. The fourth and the fifth retentions will see a reduction of Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore, respectively.
It means a team will see its auction purse reduced by a whopping Rs 75 crore on five players, with only Rs 45 crore left in its kitty for the IPL auction.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former India opener Aakash Chopra weighed in on the Punjab Kings' situation under the new retention rules.
Chopra mentioned that PBKS don’t have a player worth the INR 18 crore retention, and it will be interesting to see how the franchise navigates its strategy.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also suggested that the franchise could part ways with some of their big-money recruits like Sam Curran, who was bought for a whopping ₹18.50 crore in the 2023 IPL mini-auction.
With no player justifying the INR 18 crore tag, Aakash believes PBKS might be better off reshuffling their squad and entering the auction with a bigger purse.
"New coach, new thinking, new approach. If they go with that, will they want to retain anyone? Do they have anyone worth 18 crores? They have uncapped players but does Punjab have any capped players worthy of 18 crores?" Aakash Chopra said.
"They spent a lot of money on Sam Curran and retained him but Trevor Bayliss was there at that time. They had kept many English players. Now since Ricky Ponting has come, all English players will be made to stand next to the door. I feel Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes will all go," he added.
Aakash Chopra further stated that Punjab Kings could use the RTM card to bring back left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
"I want to retain Arshdeep but I won't retain him for 18 crores. I will let him go as I have the Right to Match card in any case. I will use it later, however much he might be sold for. I don't think any Indian fast bowler will go for 18 crores at the mega auction unless he is Jasprit Bumrah, who won't come to the auction," he explained.
