IPL 2025: A look at the costliest retentions
The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have revealed their retained players for the 2025 season. Sunrisers Hyderabad's Heinrich Klaasen became the most expensive retention, with a mind-boggling price tag of Rs. 23 crore. The South African wicket-keeper has been phenomenal in the IPL, scoring close to 1,000 runs in merely 35 matches at an average of over 38 and a strike rate of over 168. Here we look at the costliest retentions ahead of the 2025 season.
Heinrich Klaasen - Rs. 23 crore
SRH were the runners-up of the 2024 edition and Klaasen was instrumental in their run to the final. The middle-order dasher is one of the finest finishers going around and his ability to go big against spinners makes him one of a kind. Moreover, he will also double up as a wicket-keeper. Hence, he piped prominent names like Pat Cummins and Travis Head to become SRH's top retention.
Nicholas Pooran and Virat Kohli - Rs. 21 crore
Lucknow Super Giants's Nicholas Pooran and Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli were also among the top earners. Both were bagged for ₹21 crore each. Pooran, a left-handed batsman, has scored over 2,400 runs in T20 cricket this year alone. Meanwhile, Kohli is an IPL veteran and has been with RCB since its inception. He is also the highest run-scorer in IPL history with over 8,000 runs to his name.
These players received Rs. 18 crore apiece
A total of seven players were retained at an amount of Rs. 18 crore. CSK's Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK's Ravindra Jadeja, MI's Jasprit Bumrah, RR's Sanju Samson, RR's Yashasvi Jaiswal, SRH's Pat Cummins, and GT's Rashid Khan fall in this category. Meanwhile, DC's Axar Patel and GT's Shubman Gill have been retained for a sum of Rs. 16.5 crore.
