IPL 2025 Retention: Which players were retained above 20 crore?

Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter/IPL)

The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises made history during their retention announcements on Thursday, October 31. Several players made huge gains in their prices and some went on to break the INR 20 crore mark.

The IPL Governing Council rolled out the retention guidelines earlier which allowed teams to retain up to six players, the highest ever permitted before a mega-auction. While the retention caps were initially set at INR 18 crores, INR 14 crores, and INR 11 crores, franchises made flexibility in adjusting these figures based on player valuations and market demands. This adaptability led to several players getting fees that exceeded INR 20 crores.

Looking ahead to IPL 2025, these retained players carrying high price tags will have huge expectations to justify their record-breaking valuations. Their performance will be crucial in seeing whether these bold financial choices by franchises prove to be firm investments or costly gambles.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Royal Challengers Bengaluru Retained Players, Released Players and Purse Remaining ahead of Mega Auction

In the upcoming mega-auction, teams will now look to balance their remaining purse after these significant retentions. With franchises having already committed to substantial amounts to their core players, the teams will focus on building strong squads within the salary cap constraints.

Here are the three players retained above 20 crore in IPL 2025:

3. Nicholas Pooran (21 Crore):

Nicholas Pooran. (Source – Getty Images)

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) placed their faith in West Indies’ hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran, as they retained him for INR 21 crore, making him the joint-second most expensive player retained.

Pooran became the franchise’s first-choice retention after they parted ways with their former skipper KL Rahul, who led the team since its inception in 2022. After a disappointing seventh-place finish in IPL 2024, the franchise opted for a bold restructuring, with Pooran potentially taking over the leadership role in the upcoming season.

Since joining LSG IN 2023, the southpaw has been nothing short of brilliant, scoring 857 runs in 29 innings. With an average of 42.85 and a strike rate of 175.98, Pooran has made himself a brilliant middle-order batter. Besides Pooran, LSG has also retained the service of Ravi Bishnoi (INR 11 crore), Mayank Yadav (INR 11 crore), Mohsin Khan (INR 4 crore) and Ayush Badoni (INR 4 crore and will go into the mega auction with a purse of INR 69 Crore.

Also Read: IPL 2025 Retention: List of retained players, released players and purse remaining for all teams

2. Virat Kohli (21 Crore):

Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter/IPL)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have retained their legendary player Virat Kohli for a staggering Rs 21 crore, making him the highest-paid player in the franchise’s history and joint-second most expensive player retained in this edition of IPL.

The partnership between Kohli and RCB, which began in 2008, continues as the batting great enters his 18th season with the franchise, making him the only player to play for one franchise since its inception. The Delhi-born had a brilliant IPL 2024 campaign where he clinched the Orange Cap with 741 runs.

Overall he has scored 8004 runs in 252 matches, including eight centuries, and is the tournament’s all-time leading run-scorer. The 35-year-old is once again set to take the field in RCB’s pursuit of their maiden IPL trophy. Along with Kohli, the Bengaluru-based franchise has also retained young talents, Rajat Patidar (INR 11 Crore) and Yash Dayal (INR 5 Crore), and will go sit in the auction table with a purse of INR 83 CR.

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

1. Heinrich Klaasen (23 Crore):

Heinrich Klaasen. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) created history on October 31 by retaining South African wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen for a sum of INR 23 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. This made SRH the only franchise in IPL history to sign two players for more than Rs 20 crore, following their acquisition of Pat Cummins for INR 20.50 crore in the IPL 2024 auction.

Klaasen’s retention comes as no surprise given his exceptional performance over the past two seasons. Since joining SRH in 2023, the explosive batter has been a key player in the team’s batting lineup, scoring 448 runs in his debut season and following it up with 479 runs in 16 matches at a striking rate of 171.07 in the subsequent season.

The South African’s consistent match-winning abilities and explosive batting style helped the side finish as runners-up in the last season. Along with him, the side has shown faith in skipper Cummins (INR 18 Crore), Abhishek Sharma (INR 14 Crore), Travis Head (INR 14 Crore) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (INR 6 Crore).  The 2016 champions will now head to the auction table with a remaining purse of INR 45 Crore.

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