Suryakumar Yadav set to be led by Hardik Pandya; KL Rahul's fate uncertain: Possible IPL retentions

Team India is currently focused on playing Test cricket, but the upcoming retentions for the Indian Premier League (IPL) have stolen the spotlight. With all teams required to announce their retentions by October 31, 2024, the big question on everyone's minds is whether Mumbai Indians will retain T20 World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma. After the drama earlier this year when Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit as captain, fans are eagerly awaiting to see how the team management will handle the situation.

Hardik Pandya was mercilessly booed at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Indians' home ground. The franchise also finished last on the table, winning just four of their 14 games.

However, as per a report in The Indian Express, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, are all set to be retained by Mumbai Indians.

On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals have decided to retain just three Indian players -- Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag. As per The Indian Express, the franchise is also in talks with England's Jos Buttler.

Talking about another elephant in the room, Lucknow Super Giants is likely to retain two uncapped players -- Ayush Badoni and pacer Mohsin Khan. Nicolas Pooran is also expected to be amongst the sure shot retentions. However, it is not known whether the franchise will retain their captain KL Rahul or not.

During IPL 2024, after an embarrassing loss against SunRisers Hyderabad, TV cameras had captured owner Sanjiv Goenka gesturing with his hands at KL Rahul. However, during a function where Zaheer Khan was named as LSG's mentor, Goenka had said, "He (Rahul) is integral (to LSG). He has been here since the inception. For me personally and for (my son) Shashwat, he is like family.”

Coming to Delhi Capitals, the franchise is expected to retain Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav. The franchise had parted ways with head coach Ricky Ponting earlier this year. Owners GMR on Thursday announced the appointment of Venugopal Rao and Hemang Badani as the new director of cricket and head coach.

Punjab Kings are in talks with pacer Arshdeep Singh. The franchise also wants to retain uncapped batters Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma. Both these batters had a breakthrough season earlier this year.

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) are all but certain to retain skipper Pat Cummins, wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen and opening batter Abhishek Sharma. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made his T20I debut for Team India, earlier this month, is expected to be a Right-To-Match (RTM) option.

Lastly, Kolkata Knight Riders face the biggest challenge. The team has several options in terms of retention. Skipper Shreyas Iyer and all-rounders Andre Russell and Sunil Narine seem like the sure-shot retentions. The franchise is expected to use RTM option for wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt. Harshit Rana, the young pacer, is also expected to be retained as an uncapped player for ₹4 crore.

Talking about IPL 2025, the BCCI has allowed every franchise to retain six players, of which the five can be capped players, with a maximum of two uncapped players.

As per the new guidelines, retention will cost every franchise ₹18 crore for the first player, ₹14 crore for the second, ₹11 crore for the third, while the fourth and fifth players will cost ₹18 crore and ₹14 crore respectively.