This year, the Indian Premier League auction has already turned into a new sensation in the cricketing world. The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) has already taken some strict decisions regarding the player’s franchise value, limits on the number of players that can be purchased at once and many more to arrange a more balanced and competitive IPL auction. As per BCCI regulations, all franchises released their retention lists yesterday. The Royal Challengers Bangalore management has announced its retention list for IPL 2025, revealing a surprising decision to release nearly all players, retaining only three core members.

The retention list of RCB has created many questions among their ‘Royal’ Supporters. They just decided to retain only three players: Virat Kohli, batter Rajat Patidar, and fast bowler Yash Dayal. They didn’t even look about other star players who played crucial roles in helping the team reach the qualifying rounds last season. As a result, notable players like Faf du Plessis and Mohammed Siraj have been released and will enter the auction pool. According to their released chart, RCB spent ₹37 crore on retaining these three players, with Kohli being retained at ₹21 crore, Patidar at ₹11 crore, and Dayal at ₹5 crore.

With Faf du Plessis released fans are eagerly anticipating who will take over as the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Reports suggest that Virat Kohli may return as captain, but RCB has not confirmed on this matter. Either they appoint Kohli or acquire a new captain in the upcoming auction. As ₹83 crores are left from their total purse of ₹120 crore, RCB is currently well-positioned to sign a new captain for their upcoming IPL season. According to some media reports, KL Rahul is a strong contender to become the new captain of the RCB side. But all the myths will turned into reality mega auctions, where they will make some decisions strategically. Let’s take a look at the players released into the auction pool by the Royal Challengers Bangalore:

The franchise has released several players, including notable names like Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, and Saurabh Chauhan.