Rajasthan Royals Retention List For IPL 2025: All Players Retained by RR Ahead of IPL Mega Auction

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Rajasthan Royals (RR) has decided to make all six retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, which is likely to be held in Saudi Arabia in the closing days of November.

In the official list released around 5 PM IST on Thursday (October 31), Royals retained six players, who are likely to be core of the team in the upcoming season and beyond in the Indian Premier League.

It was a well known fact that the Royals has retained the services of their skipper Sanju Samson as the top retention. Samson, who made his IPL debut with the Royals in 2013, was roped in by the Royals for a second coming during the 2018 Mega Auction for Rs 8 Crore.

The Kerala star has been part of the franchise for the past 6 years, being retained before every auction so far. The 29-year-old Indian wicketkeeper-batter was retained for Rs 14 Crore before the last mega auction in 2022, and is now set for another three-year stint with the Royals, becoming their top pick at Rs 18 Crore ahead of the next big auction.

Samson's retention was a no-brainer as he fills a lot of slots for Royals, being a wicketkeeper-batter and the captain. Additionally, he is expected to open after his preference to bat at top of the order. This may have also led to the Royals deciding to release one of their key overseas star.

As a skipper, Samson may have also played a role in the franchise's retention strategy along with the new coaching set up led by Rahul Dravid as well as the rest of the management including the ownership and the director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara.

The next two retentions for Royals also were as expected - two Indian capped stars - opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and all-rounder Riyan Parag. The duo joined the Royals as uncapped players and have now evolved into Team India stars.

Jaiswal, who has been on an upward curve, was retained for Rs 4 Crore in 2022. The 22-year-old is now set for huge bump as he is set to be retained for reportedly Rs 14 Crore. His retention will address the opening slots.

Royals were often criticized for retaining or buying back Riyan Parag, but the Assam all-rounder has finally proved his worth and silenced the critics with his bat doing the talking in the recent seasons of IPL and domestic cricket, earning him a spot in the Indian squad.

Following his consistent run, RR did not hesitate to make Parag their third retention before the mega auction, retaining the all-rounder for potentially Rs 11 Crore. This reduced RR purse to Rs 77 Crore. It further reduced to Rs 41 Crore following the retention of the sole uncapped player and two more capped players.

On the back of good performance coming in as a replacement player in 2023, Sandeep Sharma has earned faith from the Royals as the pacer earned himself a retention as an uncapped player, having last played his international match in 2015.

Royals also managed to pull off a couple of more capped retentions in the form of Indian wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel for Rs 14 Crore and West Indies' big-hitting batter Shimron Hetmyer for Rs 11 Crore. Here is a look at the full list of retained players of RR:

RR Retentions 2025 - List of Players Retained by Rajasthan Royals

• Sanju Samson - Rs 18 Crore
• Yashasvi Jaiswal - Rs 18 Crore
• Riyan Parag - Rs 14 Crore
• Dhruv Jurel - Rs 14 Crore
• Shimron Hetmey (West Indies) - Rs 11 Crore
• Sandeep Sharma (uncapped) - Rs 4 Crore