How Cummins' Selfless Decision Helped SRH Retain Klaasen Ahead Of Auction

In times when fans expect rivalries between players within the teams to be the No. 1 retained player, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins has reportedly shown his selfless side for the betterment of the team. As per reports, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have identified Heinrich Klaasen as their primary retention ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction, with Pat Cummins and Abhishek Sharma being the other two retentions. Though the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has allowed franchises to retain a maximum of 6 players, SRH are said to be keen on going into the auction with just three retentions.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Klaasen will receive INR 23 crore (approximately US$2.74 million) as the first retained player. The franchise has also confirmed retention deals for Australian allrounder Pat Cummins, who captained SRH in 2024, at INR 18 crore (approximately US$2.14 million), and Indian allrounder Abhishek Sharma at INR 14 crore (approximately US$1.67 million).

Surprisingly, it isn't the team's captain Cummins who was the top pick. Cummins was famously bought by SRH in the IPL 2024 auction for a whopping fee of INR 20.50 crore. But, as per reports, the Australian pacer would only get a maximum of INR 18 crore this time, hence taking a big pay cut. 

Despite being SRH's top-salaried player last year, Cummins is said to have taken a selfless decision in agreeing to make Klaasen the team's top-earner ahead of the mega auction. In fact, Cummins, being the captain of the side, also had the opportunity to push for his compatriot Travis' Head's decision but he went with Klaasen as the No. 1 retention. 

The Indian Premier League (IPL) recently stipulated that franchises can retain up to six players from their 2024 squads, with a maximum of five capped players (Indian or overseas) and two uncapped Indians. Franchises can use retention deals and right-to-match (RTM) cards during the auction to retain their players.

For the 2025 auction, the purse is set at INR 120 crore. The IPL has established retention slabs of INR 18 crore, INR 14 crore, and INR 11 crore for the first three capped retentions, and INR 18 crore and INR 14 crore for the next two. Uncapped Indians can fetch a maximum of INR 4 crore. Franchises can allocate the capped retention pot of INR 75 crore among their five capped players as they see fit.

Retaining core players has been a strategy for successful IPL franchises, and SRH appears to be following this approach. Cummins, who was the second-most expensive player at the 2024 mini-auction at INR 20.50 crore (approximately US$2.47 million), effectively utilized his leadership skills from international cricket and worked well with SRH coach Daniel Vettori. Their collaboration led SRH to the playoffs after three disappointing seasons. Financially, Cummins' retention reflects a 12.2% reduction from his 2024 price.

The leadership of Cummins and Vettori provided the freedom for youngsters like Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy to thrive. Abhishek and Travis Head formed one of the most formidable opening pairs in IPL history, both maintaining strike rates over 200. Head ended the season fourth in the overall run-getters list with 567 runs at a strike rate of 191.55 from 15 innings.

If SRH finalizes all five retentions and opts not to add a sixth player before the deadline, they will have one RTM card available at the auction, usable only for an uncapped Indian. It is expected that SRH will also confirm the retentions of Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy soon. The IPL has set October 31 as the deadline for retentions ahead of the mega auction later this year.

Pat Cummins, who led SRH to the finals last season, will continue as captain in 2025.

With ANI Inputs

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