Aakash Chopra spoke his mind on the IPL franchise, pinning on one Team India star who could be brought back using the RTM card.
The BCCI recently announced guidelines for retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, triggering intense speculation about which players will be retained by the franchises. As per the new rules, teams are allowed to retain up to six players, but the BCCI has placed a cap of INR 18 crore on the first retention. Interestingly, the fourth and fifth retentions will reset this cap, meaning the fourth player retained will again cost INR 18 crore, while the fifth will be priced at INR 15 crore.
Aakash Chopra(Instagram)
This rule aims to ensure that top players are not prevented from entering the auction pool, giving franchises the flexibility to retain core members without overspending on multiple players.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra weighed in on the Punjab Kings’ situation under the new retention rules. With Ricky Ponting set to take over as the new head coach in 2025, Punjab is already undergoing a significant transition, having bid farewell to Shikhar Dhawan after his retirement post-2024 season.
Dhawan’s absence in the latter half of the previous season, due to injury, marked the beginning of this shift, as Punjab was forced to find new leadership on the field. Chopra pointed out that, currently, Punjab lacks a player worth the INR 18 crore retention, and it will be interesting to see how the franchise navigates its strategy, especially without a standout captain.
Chopra also suggested that the franchise could part ways with some of their big-money England recruits, notably Sam Curran, who was the most expensive buy of the 2021 season. The team has been heavily reliant on overseas talent, but according to Chopra, with no player justifying the INR 18 crore tag, Punjab might be better off reshuffling their squad and entering the auction with a bigger purse.
“New coach, new thinking, new approach. If they go with that, will they want to retain anyone? Do they have anyone worth 18 crores? They have uncapped players but does Punjab have any capped players worthy of 18 crores?” he said on his YouTube channel.
“They spent a lot of money on Sam Curran and retained him but Trevor Bayliss was there at that time. They had kept many English players. Now since Ricky Ponting has come, all English players will be made to stand next to the door. I feel Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes will all go,” Chopra further stated.
Use RTM for Arshdeep
Arshdeep Singh has been one of the integral members in the Indian T20I team, and played a key role in the side’s T20 World Cup win earlier this year. Chopra stated that the left-arm pacer could be brought back to the franchise using RTM, adding that no Indian bowler apart from Bumrah would “go for 18 crores.”
“I want to retain Arshdeep but I won’t retain him for 18 crores. I will let him go as I have the Right to Match card in any case. I will use it later, however much he might be sold for. I don’t think any Indian fast bowler will go for 18 crores at the mega auction unless he is Jasprit Bumrah, who won’t come to the auction,” he explained.
