‘Sanju had a big role to play’ - Rahul Dravid on Rajasthan Royals’ retentions and releases

Rajasthan Royals have made some bold decisions regarding their retentions and releases ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction. The 2008 champions retained Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal for INR 18 crore each, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel for 14 crore each, Shimron Hetmyer for INR 11 crore and Sandeep Sharma for INR 4 crore. In the process, they have let go of some of their biggest match winners in previous years, in the form of Jos Buttler, Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult among others.

Reflecting on the same, Royals head coach Rahul Dravid stated that the decisions that were made weren’t easy and captain Samson played a big role in finalizing the names. He stated that it was difficult for the keeper-batter to take such calls as he had built good relationships with all of them in the last five to six years. However, a decision was finally made keeping the dynamics in mind and charting out the pros and cons of each move.

“Sanju had a big role to play in these retentions. He faced a lot of difficulty, too. As a captain, he has built a lot of relationships with these players. We are very sad for the players we couldn't retain, and Sanju has worked with these players for 5-6 years now,” Dravid said in a video posted by a fan on the 'X' handle.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Rajasthan Royals Retained Players, Released Players and Purse Remaining ahead of Mega Auction

“He has had balanced views on these retentions. He has taken the trouble to understand the dynamics of it, charting out the pros and cons. He has discussed a lot with us on this, and it wasn't an easy decision. We had a lot of debates, but in the end, we are happy with the team that we have and we wanted to retain as many as possible,” he added.

Check out what RR coach Rahul Dravid had to say on retentions here:

Also Read: Who outrivalled Virat Kohli to become most expensive retained player in IPL history?

Rajasthan have 41 crore purse for IPL mega auctions

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals have no Right to Match (RTM) cards left that they can use in the IPL mega-auction. They have spent INR 79 crore in retentions and have INR 41 crore left to spend. They also have seven overseas slots available to fill.