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Rajasthan Royals coach Rahul Dravid on Thursday revealed the reason behind their retention picks, stressing on the fact that a team needs a strong core to compete.
“We have a lot of talented players who have performed well. We trust our talent and we also want to maintain the core and want to build the team around it. We have seen that if you maintain the core, it’s easier to build a team and there’s always a loyalty factor for a franchise that you can’t ignore,” Dravid said after the Royals retained captain Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel and Sandeep Sharma.
That means that big names like England white ball skipper Jos Buttler, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin and Trent Boult will go into the auction pool after getting released.
𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝-𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 🤝 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐡
Hear from Rahul Dravid on #RR‘s retentions ahead of the #IPLAuction.#IPLonJioCinema #IPLRetentiononJioCinema #IPLRetention #JioCinemaSports #RCB #PlayBold #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/lYqXZs4xPG
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This means that the Royals are left with Rs 41 crore in their purse for the upcoming auction with no Right To Match options available.
Meanwhile, India wicket-keepers Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul headline the list of released players after the IPL 2025 Retention deadline on Thursday evening.
Shreyas Iyer, who led the Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title earlier this year, will also return to the auction pool before the next season.
Pant, who has featured in over 100 IPL matches with the Delhi Capitals, will return to the pool alongside Rahul who led the three-season-old Lucknow Super Giants since 2022.
The Indian Express understands that Chennai Super Kings are keen on bringing Rishabh Pant to the MA Chidambaram Stadium — and are working on their retention strategy accordingly.
As a far as Rahul, it would be interesting to see where he lands up. Though his strike-rate has been in question, he remains a player of interest for many. There are indications that Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who are in need of a local face, may buy him back as they need a wicket-keeper batsman. Apart from being an option at the top, Rahul can also bat in the middle-order.
