IPL 2025: Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul are among the top Indian players to be released on Thursday. (BCCI)
IPL 2025 Retention: India wicket-keepers Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul headline the list of released players after the IPL 2025 Retention deadline on Thursday evening.
Shreyas Iyer, who led the Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title earlier this year, will also return to the auction pool before the next season.
Pant, who has featured in over 100 IPL matches with the Delhi Capitals, will return to the pool alongside Rahul who led the three-season-old Lucknow Super Giants since 2022.
Pant was roped in for Rs 1.9 crore by Delhi in the IPL 2016 auction and has been retained by the franchise ever since. Pant appeared in 111 matches for the Capitals, scoring over 3284 runs with a century and 18 half-centuries. Despite missing out on the entirety of 2023 due to his unfortunate car accident, Pant was retained by the Capitals. He returned as skipper in IPL 2024, scoring 446 runs, as Capitals failed to make the Playoffs. In Pant’s absence, it is understood that the Capitals are keen on bringing back Iyer, who led the franchise to their first and only IPL final in 2020.
Meanwhile, Rahul will return to the IPL auction for the first time since 2018 when the Karnataka batter was roped in by Punjab Kings at Rs 11 crore. Rahul later became one of the first three automatic choices for LSG before they entered the IPL mega-auction in 2022. In three seasons with the LSG, Rahul scored over 1400 runs as the team made the Playoffs twice.
CSK target Pant, KL to RCB?
The Indian Express understands that Chennai Super Kings are keen on bringing Rishabh Pant to the MA Chidambaram Stadium — and are working on their retention strategy accordingly.
As a far as Rahul, it would be interesting to see where he lands up. Though his strike-rate has been in question, he remains a player of interest for many. There are indications that Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who are in need of a local face, may buy him back as they need a wicket-keeper batsman. Apart from being an option at the top, Rahul can also bat in the middle-order.
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