IPL 2025 auction updates: Breaking news on player transfers, retentions, and exits

According to ToI, KL Rahul has decided to part ways with LSG due to personal reasons, despite being offered the top retention bracket.

IPL 2024's winning captain might not be retained by KKR, according to a report in Cricbuzz. According to the report, Iyer has asked for an "exorbitant fees".

According to an ESPNCricinfo report, Lucknow Super Giants are set to set Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi, with Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni set to be their uncapped retentions. 

Venugopal Rao has replaced Sourav Ganguly as Delhi Capitals' new director of cricket, while former India batter Hemang Badani has been appointed their head coach.

The decision comes after the franchise’s co-owners – JSW group and GMR group – have decided to split the responsibilities of the men’s and women’s teams in the IPL and WPL on a two-year rotation basis.

Earlier in July, they parted with their former head coach, Ricky Ponting, after reports emerged about his departure, in which Ganguly revealed that Ponting would not continue as coach.

Shreyas Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title in 2024, might not be retained by the franchise ahead of the 2025 auction, claimed a Sanbad Pratidin report. 

As per the Bengali Daily, Iyer could enter the auction as Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings are reportedly willing to spend a large sum of money to acquire his service in a bid for a new captain.

According to an Espncricinfo report, Sunrisers Hyderabad is set to splash INR 23 crore for Heinrich Klaasen as their first retained player. 

The report added: "The franchise has also finalised two other retention deals: Australian allrounder Pat Cummins, who was Sunrisers captain in 2024, at INR 18 crore, and India allrounder Abhishek Sharma at INR 14 crore."

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma are the other two possible retentions. 

Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has parted ways with Chennai Super Kings and will now join Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor from the 2025 IPL edition.

Bravo will replace Gautam Gambhir, who took over as India’s head coach after helping the franchise win their third IPL title this year. The decision came after Bravo announced his retirement from all forms of cricket yesterday.

Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra and director of cricket Vikram Solanki are expected to continue in their roles for the upcoming season amid speculation of a potential ownership change, claimed a Cricbuzz report.

Nehra’s contract ended last season, after which reports emerged that multiple franchises had contacted him for his service. However, it seems that Nehra is set to continue with the team. Under his guidance, Gujarat won the trophy in their debut season in 2022 and finished runners-up in the next.

India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant took to social media on Thursday (September 26) to call out "fake news" regarding discussions over his probable change of allegiance from Delhi Capitals to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL.

"Don’t create untrustworthy environment for no reason. It’s not the first time and won’t be last but I had to put this out," Pant replied to an X post, which claimed his potential move.

Cricbuzz have reported that Delhi Capitals are set to make captain Rishabh Pant their top retention for IPL 2025, with India stars Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav set to be the next two. Jake Fraser-McGurk and Tristan Stubbs are said to be the top retention options among overseas players, with Abishek Porel also in the frame if a slot is reserved for uncapped players.

Lucknow, who are without a mentor since Gautam Gambhir left the franchise, may join the side ahead of the 2025 season. Lucknow are also without a bowling coach with Morne Morkel taking up the India role and Zaheer could be in charge of those duties as well.

Sportstar have reported on August 24 that Delhi Capitals are in talks with Indian World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh over a possible coaching role. Delhi recently parted ways with head coach Ricky Ponting, and there have been suggestions that director of cricket Sourav Ganguly could double up as the new head coach, but it appears that Yuvraj has emerged as a new option.

Yuvraj had earlier been reported to be in the running for a position on the coaching staff of Gujarat Titans.

According to a Cricbuzz report from July 29, Chennai Super Kings are only likely to retain superstar MS Dhoni if five or six player retentions are allowed ahead of IPL 2025. If he is not retained, he may remain with CSK in the role of a mentor. The four players thought to be ahead of Dhoni in the priority order are current captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, and Matheesha Pathirana.

Gujarat Titans are reportedly looking to overhaul their coaching set-up following the disastrous 2024 season. Head coach Ashish Nehra and Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki are likely to leave the franchise, while Yuvraj might come in. Gary Kirsten, the mentor in 2024, left the team when he joined Pakistan in a full-time role.

According to a Times of India report, former India head coach Rahul Dravid might be in line to join Rajasthan Royals in a coaching capacity. Dravid has previously been associated with Rajasthan Royals both as a player and as a coach.

The biggest talk of the town is that KL Rahul, who is no longer in the fray in India’s T20I team, could leave his current IPL team Lucknow Super Giants, and join RCB, a side he has played for before. Reports say LSG is not keen to retain him as their skipper while Bengaluru is looking for a successor to Faf du Plessis.

Rohit was replaced as the Mumbai Indians captain by Hardik Pandya this season, reportedly to his dismay. Reports suggest that Rohit is keen to leave the franchise, thus ending a successful tenure with them. Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, reportedly displeased at being overlooked as captain, might join Rohit in leaving.

Despite various reports that wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant could join Chennai Super Kings ahead of the 2025 IPL, Delhi fans might not have to be worried as Pant is expected to be the first retention for the franchise along with Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and one between Tristan Stubbs or Fraser McGurk.

With the mega-auction next year, several IPL teams have argued that they should be allowed as many as eight retentions to ensure continuity in the league and teams. However, other sides suggest a minimal number of retentions to keep the competition competitive.

According to unverified claims, the Gujarat Titans owners are in talks with the Adani Group to sell a major stake in the franchise. The franchise was bought by the CVC Group in 2021 for a whopping INR 5625 crore. The Adani Group owns the Gujarat-based franchise in the Women’s Premier League and the Gulf Giants team in the ILT20.