New Delhi [India], October 17 : Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have identified Heinrich Klaasen as their primary retention ahead of the IPL 2025 season.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Klaasen will receive INR 23 crore (approximately US$2.74 million) as the first retained player. The franchise has also confirmed retention deals for Australian allrounder Pat Cummins, who captained SRH in 2024, at INR 18 crore (approximately US$2.14 million), and Indian allrounder Abhishek Sharma at INR 14 crore (approximately US$1.67 million).
The Indian Premier League (IPL) recently stipulated that franchises can retain up to six players from their 2024 squads, with a maximum of five capped players (Indian or overseas) and two uncapped Indians. Franchises can use retention deals and right-to-match (RTM) cards during the auction to retain their players.
For the 2025 auction, the purse is set at INR 120 crore. The IPL has established retention slabs of INR 18 crore, INR 14 crore, and INR 11 crore for the first three capped retentions, and INR 18 crore and INR 14 crore for the next two. Uncapped Indians can fetch a maximum of INR 4 crore. Franchises can allocate the capped retention pot of INR 75 crore among their five capped players as they see fit.
Retaining core players has been a strategy for successful IPL franchises, and SRH appears to be following this approach. Cummins, who was the second-most expensive player at the 2024 mini-auction at INR 20.50 crore (approximately US$2.47 million), effectively utilized his leadership skills from international cricket and worked well with SRH coach Daniel Vettori. Their collaboration led SRH to the playoffs after three disappointing seasons. Financially, Cummins' retention reflects a 12.2% reduction from his 2024 price.
The leadership of Cummins and Vettori provided the freedom for youngsters like Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy to thrive. Abhishek and Travis Head formed one of the most formidable opening pairs in IPL history, both maintaining strike rates over 200. Head ended the season fourth in the overall run-getters list with 567 runs at a strike rate of 191.55 from 15 innings.
Klaasen, known for his powerful finishing, had the second-highest six count behind Abhishek. Klaasen accumulated 479 runs at a strike rate of 171.07, while Abhishek scored 484 runs at a strike rate of 204.21. Klaasen's exceptional performance in T20 cricket has earned him a substantial pay increase, up 338% from the INR 5.25 crore SRH paid in the 2023 mini-auction. Over two seasons with SRH, Klaasen has scored 927 runs at a strike rate of 174.
Abhishek's impressive performance in T20 cricket in 2024, with a strike rate of 194.84 (the highest for any batter facing over 200 balls this year), earned him an India T20I call-up and a 115% increase in value. He now earns more than double what SRH paid in the 2022 mega auction (INR 6.5 crore). In IPL 2024, Abhishek had the highest strike rate among the top-ten run-getters.
Twenty-one-year-old seam-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy also had a notable 2024 season with 303 runs at a strike rate of 142.92 and three wickets. Reddy recently debuted for India in a T20I series against Bangladesh, scoring 74 off 34 in his second game.
If SRH finalizes all five retentions and opts not to add a sixth player before the deadline, they will have one RTM card available at the auction, usable only for an uncapped Indian. It is expected that SRH will also confirm the retentions of Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy soon. The IPL has set October 31 as the deadline for retentions ahead of the mega auction later this year.
Pat Cummins, who led SRH to the finals last season, will continue as captain in 2025.