NEW DELHI: Retaining top international players like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins ahead of the IPL 2025 auction will be a strategic move for both Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), given their immense value as world-class pacers.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the co-owner of KKR, and Kavya Maran, co-owner of SRH, can now easily secure these marquee players after the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday announced the landmark retention rule changes.
Under the new rules, franchises are allowed to retain up to six players through Retentions and the Right to Match (RTM) options, with no restriction on the number of overseas players they can retain.
Each team can retain a maximum of five capped players and up to two uncapped players.
“It is at the discretion of the IPL franchise to choose their combination for retentions and RTMs. The six retentions/RTM’s can have a maximum of 5 capped players (Indian and overseas) and a maximum of 2 uncapped players,” the IPL said in statement while announcing the big changes.
According to reports, SRK had strongly pushed for the retention of eight players during the owners’ meeting with the IPL authorities held in July this year. In response, the BCCI has offered six, potentially all through the Right to Match (RTM) option, as he advocated. Similarly, Kavya asked for removing the cap on retaining foreign or domestic players, and the BCCI has agreed, eliminating this restriction.
SRH can now retain overseas players like Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, and Aiden Markram with the updated retention rules in place, while KKR can go for Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc.
In the IPL 2024 auction, Starc made history as the most expensive player ever in the IPL, with KKR securing his services for a record-breaking Rs 24.75 crore.
While Starc had an inconsistent season, he rose to the occasion when it mattered the most, delivering a standout performance in the final. He was named Player of the Match for his outstanding figures of 2 for 14 in three overs.
