IPL 2025 retentions: Captains Rahul, Pant, Shreyas and Faf released by franchises

The 10 IPL franchises recently unveiled their player retentions ahead of the much-anticipated 2025 mega auction, where they made some unexpected choices in both releases and retentions to strengthen their rosters.

In Short

• RCB, LSG, DC and KKR release their respective captains
• MI, CSK, GT, RR and SRH retain their captains for IPL 2025
• All 10 franchises announce their respective retentions ahead of auction

The 10 IPL franchises recently unveiled their player retentions ahead of the much-anticipated 2025 mega auction, where they made some unexpected choices in both releases and retentions to strengthen their rosters. In a bold move, four captains — Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Faf du Plessis — were released by their respective teams, signalling a shift in leadership strategy and paving the way for a fresh core of leaders.

These releases indicate a readiness among franchises to reimagine their team dynamics, perhaps focusing on younger talents or new overseas players to carry forward their vision. As the 2025 season approaches, all eyes are now on the auction, where these high-profile players could trigger intense bidding wars, potentially reshaping team compositions and rivalries across the tournament.

IPL 2025 retention: Live updates

Bold calls made

Shreyas Iyer’s negotiations with KKR reached an impasse, leading the franchise to part ways with him after three seasons together since 2022. The 29-year-old led KKR to their 3rd IPL title after beating SunRisers Hyderabad in the final at MA Chidambaram Stadium on May 26. Joining Russell on the retained list are Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, and uncapped players Ramandeep Singh and Harshit Rana. Notably, KKR is one of only two franchises to retain all six players, leaving them without any Right to Match (RTM) cards for the upcoming auction.

All the captains released

Delhi Capitals, meanwhile, have officially moved on from Rishabh Pant after extensive discussions failed to secure his commitment for another three years. Pant, who began his IPL journey with Delhi in 2016, will be missed. Delhi, however, retained spin duo Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, along with promising young South African batter Tristan Stubbs and uncapped player Abishek Porel.

In a similar move, LSG released their captain KL Rahul following an underwhelming season. Instead, they invested heavily in Nicholas Pooran, securing the T20 star for a hefty INR 21 crore.

Keeping the age factor in mind, RCB did not retain Faf du Plessis, who took over the captaincy reigns from Virat Kohli in IPL 2022 and led the team for three years as they reached the play-offs two times. Meanwhile, there were reports that Kohli could return as the captain of the franchise for IPL 2025 and the star batter was retained for Rs 21 crore.