IPL 2025: KKR, SRH voice for more retentions in Mega Auction during IPL Owners meet

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The IPL owners met in Mumbai on Wednesday (July 31) along with BCCI to streamline the key aspects ahead of IPL 2025.

The team owners of the IPL teams took part in the dialogue with BCCI regarding several policies of the tournament ahead of the 2025 edition.

KKR, SRH voice for Higher number of Retentions

Several team owners, including Kolkata Knight Riders' Shah Rukh Khan and Sunrisers Hyderabad's Kavya Maran were in favour of a higher number of retained players. On the other hand, Punjab Kings were in favour of a lower number of retentions.

KKR supremo Shah Rukh Khan passionately argued against the mega auctions during the meeting. At one point, he reportedly had a heated exchange with Ness Wadia, co-owner of Punjab Kings, over retention numbers. While Shah Rukh supported major retentions, Wadia was against having too many.

The majority of the teams were in favour of a retention number of around five to six. There have been also talks about an increased purse for the teams in the auction.

Kavya Maran of SRH backed KKR's stance. She highlighted that building a squad takes time and investment, especially for younger players to mature.

"It takes a lot of time to build a squad and as discussed it also takes quite a bit of time and investment for the younger players to mature. It has taken Abhishek Sharma three years to become consistent with his performances. You would agree that there are many such examples in other teams too," she was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

The BCCI stated that franchise owners provided feedback on player regulations and commercial aspects like central merchandising and licensing. These recommendations will be reviewed by the IPL Governing Council and the decision is likely to be conveyed by the end of this month.

Parth Jindal of Delhi Capitals expressed surprise over the debate about continuing with the big auction and confirmed that he is in favour of it. Other attendees included Kiran Kumar Grandhi and Parth Jindal of Delhi Capitals, Sanjiv Goenka of Lucknow Super Giants, Rupa Gurunath of Chennai Super Kings, Manoj Badale of Rajasthan Royals, and Prathmesh Mishra of Royal Challengers Bangalore. Some owners joined via video conference, including the Ambanis of Mumbai Indians.