Top 3 Most Expensive IPL 2025 Retentions: The retention for all teams ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction has dominated the news cycle for the past week. The players that each team has retained show their priorities going into the next season and which players they feel were worth the most from their team.
For those unaware. Each team could retain a maximum of six players, five of whom can be capped. Any spot not used for retention could then be used as a Right to Match (RTM) card in the auction itself.
The first player retained would be paid Rs. 18 crores, the second 14 crores, and the third 11 crores. If then a fourth player is to be retained, they would again be paid 18 crores, while the fifth one would be paid 14 crores. An uncapped player could be retained for Rs. 4 crores.
But these numbers show the minimum amounts. This means one player could be paid a little more than the price of their spot, which will allow the team to pay some other player less than their spot’s price. For example, a team retains two capped players. Going by the spot prices, the team would have to spend Rs. 32 crores on the two. But rather than paying 18 crores to the first and 14 crores to the second, they could pay 20 crores to the first and only 12 crores to the second. This results in some players being paid higher than the others in the retentions.
Today, we will look at the top 3 most expensive IPL 2025 retentions:
Top Three Most Expensive IPL 2025 Retentions
3) Nicholas Pooran – Lucknow Super Giants (Rs. 21 Crores)
The Lucknow Super Giants have retained five players and have spent a total of Rs. 51 crores. A large portion of that sum went to West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran, who will be taking home Rs. 21 crores.
Pooran is among the best T20 batters in the world. He has previously been paid big bucks in the IPL for his ability to score very quick runs. He is the kind of player who wins his team 2-4 matches a season on his own, which is more than enough for a player.
In IPL 2024, Nicholas has his most successful season, scoring 499 runs in 14 games with an average of 62.38 and a strike rate of 178.21, scoring three 50s in the season coming lower down the order and playing as a finisher.
Despite being one of the most high-profile short-format batters in the world, it came as a surprise to some that Nicholas Pooran is not being paid 21 crores by the LSG. But this is actually just a 5 crore raise from his previous season’s salary of Rs. 16 crore. To raise three crore for his salary, the same amount was reduced from Ravi Bishnoi’s salary, who was paid just Rs. 11 crore despite being the second retention.
2) Virat Kohli – Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Rs. 21 Crores)
Virat Kohli is a certified IPL legend. And for what might be his last major contract in the league, he is among the highest-paid players in it, as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have retained him as their top pick for Rs. 21 crores.
While Kohli might not have been in the best form in 2024, that was not reflected in the IPL. In the 2024 season, he won the Orange Cap after scoring 741 runs in 15 games at a strike rate of 154. He is the highest run-scorer in IPL history, having scored 8004 runs in 252 matches across 17 seasons, all of which he has played for the RCB.
The Royal Challengers have rewarded Virat’s loyalty and performance by retaining him for 21 crores. It is also being reported that he might be returning as the team captain.
And yes, Birat Kohli might not have had the best year in international cricket, but as he showed in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup with his Player of the Match performance, he is still a big match player who can be relied upon to win his team matches.
Check Out: Top 3 Most Expensive IPL 2025 Retentions
1) Heinrich Klaasen – Sunrisers Hyderabad (Rs. 23 crores)
South African wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen is the most expensive retained player in the history of the IPL. Despite being retained at the No. 4 spot by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, which pays Rs. 18 crores, Klaasen is being retained for Rs. 23 crores and will most likely be the most expensive player in IPL 2025.
Even before the crazy batting year that the Sunrisers had in 2024, Heinrich has been highlighting what attacking batting is in T20 cricket for his franchise. For the past two seasons, he has scored over and around 450 runs with a strike rate of over 170. In 2024, he scored 479 runs with an average of almost 40 and a striker rate of 171.07.
Apart from that, Heinrich Klaasen is one of the best limited-overs batters in the world and has been rocking franchise cricket leagues all over the world. His retention is also part of the SRH’s core of foreign players, as Pat Cummins and Travis Head were also retained.
Honourable Mentions: All The Players Retained For Rs. 18 Crores
Pat Cummins (SRH), Sanju Samson (RR), Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR), Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK), Ravindra Jadeja (CSK), Rashid Khan (GT), Jasprit Bumrah (MI)
Check Out: Top 3 Most Expensive IPL 2025 Retentions
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