The Indian Premier League began preparations for the 2025 season by undertaking its annual talent parade, better known as the player auction.
The player auction this time was very significant because of the number of players back in pool. So much so that the news cycle around the retentions of each franchise ahead of the October 31 deadline outpaced that of international cricket at many instances.
The main player auction will take place by the end of November, most probably at a location in the Middle East where the riches of Indian cricket will be on full display.
On Thursday, all 10 franchises submitted their list of retained players, which automatically deducted a predetermined amount from their total salary budget.
There were a string of surprises, none more so than this season’s winning captain Shreyas Iyer being released by Kolkata Knight Riders and Rishabh Pant leaving Delhi Capitals.
The mess created in Mumbai Indians following the unceremonious removal of Rohit Sharma as captain has been largely cleared with all main players retained, namely Rohit, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav.
And yes, MS Dhoni will play another season for Chennai Super Kings. That was never in doubt because he is the undisputed king of the league – IPL brought in a rule just so that Chennai could retain Dhoni without damaging their budget; by redefining what an uncapped player is, extending to those who have not played international cricket for five years.
At Gujarat Titans, Shubman Gill agreed to take a pay cut so that the team could retain a majority of its core players. Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to retain devastating players like Heinrich Klaasen and Travis Head who almost won them the title earlier this year.
Rajasthan Royals also have a great pool of local players they helped develop and have kept them home.
Lucknow Super Giants paid dollar to retain the irreplaceable Nicholas Pooran, which meant letting go of captain KL Rahul – no surprise there at all.
And lastly, Punjab Kings. They never seem to have any coherence in their team, management or performance. They kept two uncapped players and let go of everyone else, including T20 World Cup hero Arshdeep Singh.
Each team was allowed to retain up to six players, with at most five capped or two uncapped cricketers. Each team got a salary purse of 1200 million rupees. For every retention, a pre-determined amount was deducted from the purse.
Top 20 highest-paid cricketers after IPL 2025 retentions
1. Heinrich Klaasen – 230 million rupees ($2.7m), Sunrisers Hyderabad
2. Virat Kohli – 210m rupees ($2.5m), Royal Challengers Bangalore
=2. Nicholas Pooran – 210m rupees ($2.5m), Lucknow Super Giants
=4. Ruturaj Gaikwad – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Chennai Super Kings
=4. Ravindra Jadeja – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Chennai Super Kings
=4. Pat Cummins – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Sunrisers Hyderabad
=4. Sanju Samson – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Rajasthan Royals
=4. Yashasvi Jaiswal – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Rajasthan Royals
=4. Rashid Khan – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Gujarat Titans
=4. Jasprit Bumrah – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Mumbai Indians
11. Shubman Gill – 165m rupees ($1.96m), Gujarat Titans
=11. Axar Patel – 165m rupees ($1.96m), Delhi Capitals
13. Hardik Pandya – 163.5m rupees ($1.94m), Mumbai Indians
=13. Suryakumar Yadav – 163.5m rupees ($1.94m), Mumbai Indians
15. Rohit Sharma – 163m rupees ($1.93m), Mumbai Indians
16. Abhishek Sharma – 140m rupees ($1.6m), Sunrisers Hyderabad
=16. Travis Head – 140m rupees ($1.6m), Sunrisers Hyderabad
=16. Riyan Parag – 140m rupees ($1.6m), Rajasthan Royals
=16. Dhruv Jurel – 140m rupees ($1.6m), Rajasthan Royals
20. Kuldeep Yadav – 132.5m rupees ($1.57m), Delhi Capitals
Complete list of retained players for IPL 2025
Most teams have spent a substantial amount from their salary budget, which means only a few players will attract very high bids during the player auction later this month.
Punjab Kings have almost their entire salary fund to play with, having retained just two uncapped players. At the other end of the table, Rajasthan Royals have the least amount of funds remaining as they have retained more than half of their playing XI.
Remaining purse
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
RESULTS
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Rajeh, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi (trainer)
6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes – Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Get Back Goldie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Sovereign Prince, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Hot Rod Charlie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Withering, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
9.30pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Creative Flair, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
The five pillars of Islam
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
