IPL 2025 Likely Retained Players List for Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Shikhar Dhawan, a doubtful player in our best predicted retained players list for Punjab Kings (PBKS) for IPL 2025.
One of the only three franchises in the Indian Premier League history that have been devoid of an IPL trophy so far, the Punjab Kings are once again back at the place where they seem to belong forever. Barring a couple of instances, Punjab Kings have hardly managed to build a solid core in the last 17 years. The situation seems no different in 2025 too as PBKS are at a point where they may actually not want to retain any players.
While Punjab Kings may not have the players that they can retain at higher price brackets, the IPL 2025 Retention Rules may still give them that opportunity partially. As we know if any team has to retain players, they are retained at higher price brackets. For example, when teams were allowed to retain four players in IPL 2022, they had to block INR 16 Cr, 12 Cr, 8 Cr, and 6 Cr respectively. If they were allowed to retain three players, the amount blocked was INR 15 Cr, 11 Cr, and 6 Cr respectively. Whereas if only two players were retained, the amount blocked was INR 14 Cr and 10 Cr respectively.
But do Punjab Kings have players that they would like to retain at such high prices? If not, what are the alternatives? Well, Punjab Kings do have quality players, but the only issue with them will be the price at which they retain these players. It will be a big call for the team management to take. So, as we wait for the official list to get announced, let’s in the meantime look at the best possible retained players list for Punjab Kings (PBKS) for IPL 2025.
Punjab Kings Likely Retained Players List – IPL 2025
The first big question that the Punjab Kings will face is whether Shikhar Dhawan is available for IPL 2025. As shared recently, Shikhar Dhawan has announced retirement from International and Domestic forms of cricket. But there is no mention about his retirement from the Indian Premier League. But given that Dhawan also didn’t feature in IPL 2024, it looks unlikely that Dhawan, even if he is available will be retained by Punjab Kings.
Without Dhawan, the potential options that Punjab Kings have in front of them are Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Prabsimran Singh, Rahul Chahar, Harshal Patel, and Kagiso Rabada. Now, ask yourself a question. Does anyone from the list mentioned above deserve 15-16 Cr or more? Well, you don’t have to think too much,as the simple answer is ‘No’.
Before we get to the price discussion, which are the top 4 four players that Punjab Kings are likely to retain? Well, among the probable players that are mentioned above, Punjab Kings will mostly be interested in retaining Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, Shashank Singh, and Harshal Patel. These four players including Captain Sam played a key role for Punjab in IPL 2024, and they did well too to deserve the retention.
Budget Problem for Punjab Kings
So, how does Punjab Kings tackle the budget situation? Well, they can certainly tackle this situation. As per IPL 2022 retention rules, they can retain four players at the price of their choice. The only difference will be the blocked amount. For example, if they were to retain Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, and Shashank Singh for INR 10 Cr, 8 Cr, 6 Cr, and 4 Cr (Uncapped player) respectively, their blocked amount would have been 37 Cr instead of 28 Cr.
Will the Punjab Kings take the risk of losing 9 Cr from their overall kitty? Well, ideally they shouldn’t take this risk, and even if they do, it shouldn’t be a problem. They will still have more than 80 Cr if they were to hire the remaining 21 players. So, it won’t be a bad idea to retain the four players as shown below at the risk of losing 8-10 Cr from the Auction kitty. If more than four players are allowed, PBKS may think of retaining Kagiso Rabada and Jonny Bairstow in order of priority.
Punjab Kings Likely Predicted Retained Players List for IPL 2025:
Sam Curran (O), Arshdeep Singh, Shashank Singh & Harshal Patel
