IPL 2025 Retention: No Kuldeep Yadav, Harbhajan Singh Feels Delhi Capitals Will Retain Rishabh Pant & These 4 Players

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Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh feels Delhi Capitals (DC) will opt for three overseas and two Indian players as capped players ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, which is likely to be held in the last week of November.

The deadline for teams to announce their retention is on Thursday (October 31), but the rumours and predictions of each franchise's possible retention has picked up pace since last week.

According to the IPL Player Regulations announced last month, a team can retain a total of 6 players from their existing squad. This can be either via retention or by using the Right to Match (RTM) option.

The rule also states that, it is at the discretion of the IPL franchise to choose their combination for Retentions and RTMs. The 6 retentions/RTMs can have a maximum of 5 capped players (Indian and overseas) and a maximum of 2 uncapped players.

Coming to Delhi Capitals, there has been much speculation about the retention of skipper Rishabh Pant after the wicketkeeper-batter's social media post, questioning if he would be sold and for how much if he had entered the auction.

While there is uncertainity about his retention in the team, former India off-spinner Harbhajan said Pant would be his first choice and shared his list of players that DC may retain heading into the auction.

"About Delhi Capitals, we have heard a lot of things around whether Rishabh Pant will be retained or not. Only time will tell. But if I were a part of the management, I would definitely retain him," Harbhajan said in video posted by Star Sports.

Pant was expected to be DC's first choice retention along with Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, but the left-arm chinaman bowler does not find a place in Harbhajan's list of retentions.

There is also an option to retain Abhishek Porel as an uncapped player, but the former off-spinner feels DC will not retain any uncapped player. However, Harbhajan believes DC may look at retaining five capped players, including three overseas stars before the auction.

The former Indian cricketer feels DC may retain Australian duo Jake Fraser-McGurk and Mitchell Marsh as well as South Africa's Tristan Stubbs ahead of the auction.

"Pant should be the first retention, followed by Axar Patel, then Tristan Stubbs. The fourth retention, as I see it, should be Jake Fraser-McGurk; and if you want to retain a fifth player, it could be Mitchell Marsh," added Harbhajan.

Harbhajan Singh's Picks for Delhi Capitals Retention

• Rishabh Pant
• Axar Patel
• Jake Fraser-McGurk
• Tristan Stubbs
• Mitchell Marsh

There are reports of fixed price slabs for every retention, starting at Rs 18 crore then followed by Rs 14 Crore and Rs 11 Crore for the next two retentions. If the team wants to retain a fourth and fifth player, then the franchise will have to pay Rs 18 Crore and Rs 14 Crore, totalling to Rs 75 Crore.

The latest reports suggest that the retention doesn't necessarily have to be made at the fixed price, and can either exceed or be less than the fixed retention amount, but in the end the franchise will lose Rs 75 Crore if they retain 5 players at a price anywhere under the Rs 75 Crore mark.

If the franchises exceed a total of Rs 75 Crore in making their retentions, the extra price will be deducted from their purse of Rs 120 Crore. So, franchises will be very cautious with what they do with their retention plans.