IPL 2025 Retention: Why Punjab Kings May Look at Complete Revamp or Opt to Retain Just 2 Uncapped Players?

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Punjab Kings (PBKS) may be one of the teams that could release all their players, opening up six Right to Match (RTM) slots at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Mega Auction, scheduled to be held later this year.

On Saturday (September 28), the IPL Governing Council announced the much-awaited retention rules alongside several other guidelines with the release of the player regulations for 2025-27 cycle.

The IPL release stated that the franchises can retain a total of 6 players from their existing squad either via retention or by using the Right to Match (RTM) option with teams being allowed to use all 6 as RTMs.

The rule also limits the 6 retentions or RTM's to a maximum of 5 capped players (Indian & Overseas) and a maximum of 2 uncapped players. The RTM rule also has a new twist as it will not be as straightforward as a team matching the winning bid.

The new RTM rule allows the team with the highest bid an option to put in another bid after a team with the RTM card matches the winning bid for the said player. So, PBKS may run the risk of overpaying. But, it would be much better than overpaying for retentions.

Why PBKS may release all players or opt to retain 2 uncapped players?

With slabs of Rs 18 crore, Rs 14 crore, Rs 11 crore, Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore, taking away Rs 75 Crore from the purse, teams will have to do a lot of planning on how to assemble their squad, starting with retentions.

PBKS may be tempted to retain the likes of Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and several other capped players. But they are better of using the RTM card for their international stars as blowing substantial fee from their purse will hurt them at the auction.

In 2022, PBKS opted to retain then skipper Mayank Agarwal for Rs 12 crore and Arshdeep for Rs 4 crore. With the slab rates increasing, PBKS may be put off from retaining any player of their current squad for Rs 18 crore although they splashed more than that figure for Curran in 2023 auction.

The retention of uncapped players also will come at a cost of Rs 4 Crore. So, teams including Punjab Kings will do a lot of brainstorming on how they approach the auction with several options available.

Sashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma and Harpreet Brar fall in the uncapped category, and the trio have warranted a retention spot. But all three can't be retained as the retention rule allows just 2 uncapped players to be retained.

All three could be bought for lesser than Rs 4 crore at the auction. So, PBKS is likely to be very cautious on how they pick their retentions ahead of the IPL Mega Auction 2025, which is reportedly set to be held overseas for the second year in a row.

If they plan on two retentions, PBKS is likely to chose all-rounder Harpreet Brar and Shashank Singh. Then again, these players if released could enter the auction at a base price of just Rs 20 Lakhs. However, there is no guarantee they will be available at or around their reserve prices.