The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released a significant update on the price structure of players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 ahead of the blockbuster auction.
According to ESPNCricinfo, teams can divide the capped retention purse of INR 75 crore among 5 capped players in any way they see fit. This was after they reported that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are set to retain South African wicket-keeper batter Heinrich Klaasen for INR 23 crore.
That amount would be INR 5 cr more than the INR 18 cr slab set by the IPL Governing Council for the first retention slot.
While the IPL regulations apparently specify that the first retention must be Rs 18 crore, the second Rs 14 crore, the third Rs 11 crore, the fourth Rs 18 crore, the fifth Rs 14 crore, and the uncapped Rs 4 crore, a franchise may split the money among players in any way it sees fit.
"Retention deduction of overall amount instead of fee per player, in this case of 75 Crs irrespective of what amount is paid to 5 players. If the total amount exceeds 75 Crs, then the actual amount is to be deducted. In case the amount is less than 75 Crs then 75 Crs to be deducted,” IPL retention rules read.
For example, a franchise can opt to pay more than Rs 18 crore for their first retention and less than Rs 11 crore for their third retention, as long as their overall budget equals Rs 43 crore (18 + 14 + 11), the allotted amount for three retentions.
Even if a franchise keeps five players for less than the targeted Rs 75 crore sum (from a total budget of Rs 120 crore), the designated amount will be reduced.
The freedom to allocate the retention price among players in any way they see fit provides a significant advantage to franchises in negotiating higher or lesser costs for players they want to keep while remaining within the total designated amount.
As per the report, SRH will also be retaining Pat Cummins and Abhishek Sharma. SRH reportedly will be shelling out INR 23 crore for Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins, on the other hand, will be the second retention and will be retained at INR 18 crore, and India allrounder Abhishek Sharma, who will be the third retention, will stay with the team at INR 14 crore.
Travis Head is also expected to stay on the team. Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar Reddy of Visakhapatnam, who won his India cap earlier this month, will be retained.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
