RR Retention List: 4 Players Who Rajasthan Royals May Retain Ahead of IPL 2025 Auction

Rajasthan Royals (RR) ended their IPL 2024 campaign with a 36-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2024, finishing better than their league stage exit from last season.

After a near miss for the title in 2022 and a playoff spot in 2023, the Rajasthan Royals finished in the top four despite fatigue catching up at the back end of the season and also missing key players either through injury or withdrawal due to international commitments.

RR retention list ahead of IPL 2025 Mega Auction

While they missed Prasidh Krishna for the season, they fixed the void with the trade of Avesh Khan from Lucknow Super Giants. However, they faced a big blow when star opener Jos Buttler had to leave the tournament early to play for England.

The inaugural champions will need to wait for their second title at least until next year. But, may have to do it with a new-look squad as the 2025 auction will be a mega auction, meaning only a limited number of players will be allowed to be retained.

Before the previous IPL Mega Auction in 2022, Royals had retained skipper Sanju Samson, young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Buttler. They also added well at the auction as it was seen in their performances across the three seasons. But they may be forced to rebuild again.

Teams are reportedly being allowed only four retentions like the previous IPL Mega Auctions. However, there are also reports that the franchise owners have requested the BCCI to allow each team up to 8 retentions.

While there is no official confirmation on how many retentions will be allowed ahead of IPL 2025 Mega Auction, it is very likely that a minimum of 4 players may be allowed to be retained by each team. Plus, there could also be a Right To Match (RTM) card available for every team.

If only 4 players are allowed to be retained, then RR may be one of the very few teams that will face a big challenge on who to release and retain ahead of the next auction as they look to assemble a squad that could see them challenging again in the next few seasons.

Which 4 players may Rajasthan Royals retain ahead of IPL 2025 Auction?

There are several players who RR would like to retain, but will be forced to release many ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction which could take place before the next season anywhere between December 2024 and February 2025.

Sanju Samson as the captain is likely to be the first retention for RR. But who among the likes of Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Avesh Khan, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer among others will join the skipper in retention?

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has been on the rise since the 2022 edition, is likely to be the next pick alongside Jos Buttler and Riyan Parag. So, these four are likely to the be the players who may be retained by RR before the next auction.

Ashwin, Boult, Hetmyer, Sandeep Sharma and several other Indian stars may be looked at during the auction, while many players’ time at the franchise may have ended. Meanwhile, the biggest headache for RR will be with the remaining retention.

RR will face the challenge of making a big call on using their RTM with the likes of Avesh Khan, Chahal and Jurel, being the possible candidates. So, let's see the possible retention list of the Royals: