Hyderabad: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has introduced updated player retention rules ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction, which will be reportedly held in the last week of November or first week of the December this year. Under the new guidelines, each franchises are allowed to retain maximum of six players, utilising both Retentions and Right to Match (RTM) options.
There is no restriction on the number of overseas players a team can retain. Additionally, franchises can retain a maximum of five capped players and up to two uncapped players.
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 29, 2024
After yet another disappointment in the IPL 2024, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be aiming to rebuild their side under the new coach Ricky Ponting. The franchise will also be looking for a new captain after Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from the sport last month. Ponting had parted ways with Delhi Capitals after this year's IPL auction after serving the franchise as head coach for at least seven years.
𝐏𝐔𝐍TER is 𝐏𝐔𝐍JAB! 🦁♥️
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) September 18, 2024
🚨 Official Statement 🚨
Ricky Ponting joins Punjab Kings as the new Head Coach! #RickyPonting #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings pic.twitter.com/DS9iAHDAu7
The Franchise will look to get a new bunch of players and make a strategy to bring a set of players that will lead them to their maiden IPL title. However, before the auction, one of the biggest tasks ahead of the team management and owners will be to retain some of their key players and not let them go into the auction.
42 seconds of 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟐's pure
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) August 26, 2024
magic! ♥️#ShikharDhawan #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings pic.twitter.com/j0gliaSYsU
Who will PBKS retain ahead of the mega auction?
There are many star players in the side including Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Rillee Rossouw, Sikander Raza, Arshdeep Singh and Jitesh Sharma, but their performances in the last edition were below average. Hence, it is believed that uncapped Indian players Ashutosh Sharma, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh are in contention to be retained in the squad as uncapped players. However, only two of them will be able to make it into the squad.
Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh is expected to be one of the franchise’s top retention picks, having played a crucial role in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 victory, where he took 17 wickets.
Jitesh Sharma could become the second cricketer to be retained by the franchise. He comes in a rare bunch of Indian players who can finish the game while coming to bat at number five or below. He impressed the Indian cricket team selectors in his maiden IPL season with Punjab and made his T20I debut in the same year. However, he failed to showcase his batting prowess in the entire 2024 season.
Sam Curran, who captained the side for much of last season in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, contributed significantly with the bat in the middle order and could be another key retention for PBKS. Liam Livingstone, after showcasing his hitting prowess in a recent ODI against Australia, is also in contention to be retained. Kagiso Rabada, despite an inconsistent season, remains a strong option with the new ball in the PowerPlay and could be another player the team retains. But it is very highly unlikely to spend 10+ crores on each of these players and hence they might look to release them and aim to use a right-to-match card for them.
The toughest job for Punjab Kings will be to decide two players from Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran to uncapped players. Shashank is considered to be an out-and-out first option for the uncapped player's retention list while Prabhsimran Singh might win the race by beating Ashutosh as the franchise has shown huge faith in the wicketkeeper-batter since last three seasons.
All of these have showcased their prowess in the last season and impressed everyone.
