4 Players MI Might Retain Ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction

The groundwork for the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is underway as the player retention rules, salary cap and overall purse value for the mega auction will be finalised soon. The auction is expected to take place between December 2024 and February 2025 and will most likely be a two-day process.

With only a limited number of retainers allowed, many top players from around the world will go into the auction pool. In the previous mega auction of 2022, franchises were allowed to retain only four players. There is speculation that the number of retainers may be increased this time, but there is no official confirmation yet.

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Reports of Rishabh Pant possibly leaving Delhi Capitals for Chennai Super Kings have been doing the rounds online for a few days now. KL Rahul is rumoured to leave Lucknow Super Giants, while Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav are to depart Mumbai Indians (MI). In this article, we take a look at four payers MI are likely to retain ahead of the mega auction.

Here are the four players MI might retain ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction:

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is not only a matchwinner but also a tournament winner. He has been Mumbai Indians' trump card since his debut in 2013 and the franchise is unlikely to let him go at any cost. Bumrah, who has played 133 IPL matches so far, has taken 165 wickets at an economy rate of 7.3. Last season, the right-arm pacer took 20 wickets in 13 matches to become the third-highest wicket-taker. Notably, he was the Player of the Tournament in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Gerald Coetzee

MI made a blunder by releasing Trent Boult a few years ago. However, albeit not a perfect replacement, the franchise managed to fill the Kiwi pacer's void by acquiring South Africa's Gerald Coetzee. The right-arm pacer took 13 wickets at an average of 26.23 from 10 matches. More importantly, he provided excellent support for Bumrah to form a strong pace attack.

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Hardik Pandya

It is a no-brainer that MI will retain Hardik Pandya. Pandya took over the captaincy of the five-time champions since last year, replacing Rohit Sharma. Although he has had a poor campaign in every aspect, the franchise will hope the all-rounder enjoys an effective outing in the coming season. The fast-bowling all-rounder has been one of the main reasons behind India's World Cup success.  

Suryakumar Yadav

Although there are reports that Suryakumar will leave MI ahead of IPL 2025, there is no official confirmation yet. He is currently the best T20 batter in the world and MI will be in no mood to release him. However, it remains to be seen whether Suryakumar will play under Hardik after being appointed India's captain in the shorter format. The middle-order batter scored 345 runs in 11 matches at a staggering strike rate of 167.47 in IPL 2024.

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