IPL 2025: Rating teams based on their retentions and releases

The 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises submitted their list of retained players on Thursday, October 31, as the journey to the 18th edition of the cash-rich league got underway. Most of the retentions and releases were quite obvious, ones that fans and experts had predicted long ago. However, some others took many in the cricket fraternity by surprise.

Ahead of the mega-auction, teams had to release the bulk of their players as a maximum of six retentions were allowed. The teams that did not retain the full quota of six players will get the chance to use the Right To Match (RTM) cards to bring back some of their released players during the mega-auction.

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) understandably held onto six of their players from the previous season. Inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) were the only other team to retain the full quota of six players. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings retained the fewest players (two) and will have the maximum number of RTM cards at the mega-auction.

Since the retentions were announced, experts and analysts have been discussing and dissecting how the teams planned their way forward. CricTracker brings the fans a comprehensive analysis of how the teams fared by ranking them based on their retentions.

Here are the 10 teams rated as per their retentions and releases ahead of the IPL auction 2025:

10. Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Punjab Kings finished sixth, eighth, and ninth in the last three editions of the IPL, respectively, after the previous mega-auction was held ahead of the 2022 season. They registered some excellent wins to instil hope in their fans at the start of each season. However, towards the fag end of the round-robin phase, when the top teams used to go into overdrive, the Kings lost steam and left their supporters disappointed.

The 2014 finalists decided to start from scratch as they retained just two players - Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh. The two uncapped players were retained for INR 5.50 crore and INR 4 crore, respectively. Punjab have the biggest purse remaining in the auction as they have INR 110.50 crore to play with.

The biggest surprise from the Punjab camp was the release of the talented Arshdeep Singh. The left-arm pacer played a crucial role in India's triumphant run in the T20 World Cup 2024. He hasn't been at his best in the last couple of seasons in the IPL but a player of his calibre can win many matches by himself when he is on song. In an ideal world, the youngster could have been the first retention for Punjab alongside the two uncapped players they retained.

Going into an auction with the biggest purse looks great as the management can outbid their competitors to rope in players. However, the planning has to be appropriate as the dynamics of the player auction are highly unpredictable. In the past, Punjab have gone into auctions with staggering purses and roped in big players. However, they have not been able to play as a unit to bring glory to the franchise.