As the IPL 2025 mega auction is set to take place grandly before the commencement of the tournament, few franchises can plan to release their existing captains and appoint a new player. The squads of all the teams will certainly undergo major changes, with the option of retaining only a few key players.
While some players will be automatically retained, a few teams could give a huge surprise by releasing their skippers.
In the next few months, you can expect an official update about the number of retentions allowed for each IPL team. Interestingly, the focus will be on the T20 World Cup 2024 winning captain Rohit Sharma, who earlier played under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy in Indian Premier League IPL 2024 for Mumbai Indians (MI). It remains to be seen if the Hitman after achieving a peak success as Indian captain would continue playing under Hardik’s leadership or prefer joining a new team as a skipper.
As fans are waiting for an official update, let’s take a look at the 3 IPL franchises that could release their captains ahead of the next season.
3 Captains to be released by the IPL franchises: A Planning for IPL 2025 Mega Auction
1. KL Rahul: LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS (LSG)
The Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul, is one of the Indian players, who could be released by his franchise. After three seasons, the 32-year-old wicketkeeper batter is expected to move to a new team.
Since the debut season, the LSG under KL Rahul’s captaincy entered the playoffs for two consecutive times in 2022 and 2023 but concluded in the 7th position in IPL 2024 and failed to qualify for the knockouts.
But, KL Rahul maintains a decent track record as LSG skipper by winning 20 out of 37 matches, which includes 17 losses at a success rate of 54.05%.
Despite Rahul having a salary of INR 17 crores, he wasn’t able to provide adequate justice with a price tag. Perhaps, the right-handed batter might aim to prove his leadership skills with another franchise.
2. Faf du Plessis: ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU (RCB)
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain began the IPL 2022 mega auction by searching for a new captain and this is where Faf du Plessis joined the franchise for INR 7 crores.
Despite RCB qualifying for the IPL playoffs in 2022 and 2024, they continued to choke again and again in the knockout stages, thereby failing to clinch their maiden IPL trophy.
The 3-year period wasn’t enough for Faf du Plessis to guide his team to the final. As a result, the franchise could once again enter the auction in search of a capable leader.
However, du Plessis scored 1,550 runs in 42 matches playing for RCB, which shows his explosive batting style as an opener.
Although Virat Kohli has retired from T20 internationals, he will still continue playing for RCB in the upcoming IPL seasons. It remains to be seen if the franchise would go back to Kohli or prefer appointing a new captain.
3. Shikhar Dhawan: PUNJAB KINGS (PBKS)
There are huge chances for Punjab Kings to release Shikhar Dhawan and recruit a new captain in IPL 2025. It was during the 2022 mega auction that the 38-year-old left-handed batter joined the franchise and became the captain in 2023. However, Dhawan faced frequent injuries in the past two seasons and had to miss a few more matches.
Sam Curran led PBKS in Shikhar Dhawan’s absence. Possibly, the franchise might prefer a young skipper and could proceed with Sam Curran as the captain, if he is retained in the upcoming auction. Also, the PBKS is another franchise that is yet to win its first IPL title.
↻ BCCI To Discuss Player Retentions & Salary Cap With IPL Team Owners
Conclusion:
As the previous auction witnessed fewer changes in terms of captaincy for IPL teams, it is guaranteed that the next season we will get to see many new captains wearing the jerseys of new teams.
Currently, 6 out of 10 IPL teams will certainly retain their captains for the next season and include these popular names:
- Hardik Pandya (MUMBAI INDIANS)
- Sanju Samson (RAJASTHAN ROYALS)
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (CHENNAI SUPER KINGS)
- Pat Cummins (SUNRISERS HYDERABAD)
- Shreyas Iyer (KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS)
- Shubman Gill (GUJARAT TITANS)
There are chances that the DC’s current skipper Rishabh Pant might move to a new franchise and Axar Patel be the replacement for the 26-year-old wicketkeeper.
The speculations about the changes in the team have circulated to a peak level in the media. It is expected that the top players of the Indian cricket team might get appointed to new teams, whereas the remaining others might get removed.
Overall, certain teams target players to strengthen their squad as well as find a perfect candidate to lead their team to the winning title in the forthcoming 18th edition of the IPL.
