Indian Premier League (IPL)

IPL 2025 Mega Auction Best Core Target Players for All 10 Teams

Ishan Kishan and Glenn Maxwell in focus in our best core target players list for all 10 teams for the IPL 2025 Mega Auction. 

The Mega Auctions are in general very exciting, but they also have a big disadvantage where teams have to unfortunately let of off their core players. Teams take three years to build a solid core, but all that vanishes every three with a Mega Auction. The 2025 IPL Mega Auction is also going a similar route where teams are only allowed to retain a maximum of six existing players, even though they have quality 12-14 players in their side. 

But that doesn’t mean teams will not be targeting their existing set of core players. It is always very important for teams to select players that they have backed for the last 2 to 3 years. Every team will have at least four players whom they would definitely want to have in their squad – either via bidding war or via RTM. So, in this article we take a look at the best core players list that each team will target in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction.   

IPL 2025 Retained Indian Players List and Purse Details for All 10 Teams

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

  1. Rachin Ravindra
  2. Devon Conway
  3. Tushar Deshpande
  4. Sameer Rizvi

Purse Left: 55 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 1

Starting with Chennai Super Kings, they will target the likes of Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, and Sameer Rizvi. While Rachin, Conway, and Tushar will be straightforward choices to go after, the team will also be keen to hire Sameer Rizvi, who has the potential to be a solid T20 batter in the Indian Premier League.  

Delhi Capitals (DC)

  1. Mitchell Marsh
  2. Jake Fraser-McGurk
  3. Khaleel Ahmed
  4. Anrich Nortje

Purse Left: 73 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 2

Delhi Capitals have many quality players from their existing squad. But barring Pant, whom they will mostly not go after, Delhi Capitals will be after Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mitchell Marsh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Anrich Nortje among priorities. With two RTM options left, they can certainly use that on two of these four players.

Gujarat Titans (GT)

  1. Mohammed Shami
  2. David Miller
  3. Mohit Sharma
  4. R Sai Kishore

Purse Left: 69 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 1 

Gujarat Titans might be the only team that may not have as many players from their existing squad as they would want. However, if there are four players that they will go after, we are looking at the likes of Mohammed Shami, David Miller, Mohit Sharma, and R Sai Kishore. Of these four players, Shami or Miller will be the ones they use the RTM card on.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

  1. Phil Salt
  2. Venkatesh Iyer
  3. Mitchell Starc
  4. Vaibhav Arora

Purse Left: 51 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 0

Defending champions Kolkata Knight retained all their six players, but even after that, they have at least four players that they would want from their existing squad. With Shreyas Iyer not on their target list, KKR will go after the likes of Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Mitchell Starc, and Vaibhav Arora.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)

  1. Marcus Stoinis
  2. Quinton de Kock
  3. Krunal Pandya
  4. Yash Thakur

Purse Left: 69 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 1

Lucknow Super Giants retained five players with two being uncapped players. But they still have four quality players from their existing squad that they would like to target. Among the quality options, LSG will go after the likes of Marcus Stoinis, Quinton de Kock, Krunal Pandya, and Yash Thakur. Unfortunately, LSG are petty clear in not going after KL Rahul after not trusting his abilities.

Mumbai Indians (MI)

  1. Ishan Kishan
  2. Nehal Wadhera
  3. Naman Dhir
  4. Nuwan Thushara

Purse Left: 45 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 1 Uncapped

Mumbai Indians retained five players in their side, but there are players they would still want to target. Among the quality options, Mumbai Indians will be after the likes of Nehal Wadhera, Ishan Kishan, Naman Dhir, and Nuwan Thusara. While getting Kishan will be difficult, the other four are very much gettable given their purse.

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

  1. Arshdeep Singh
  2. Sam Curran
  3. Liam Livingstone
  4. Kagiso Rabada

Purse Left: 110.5 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 4

Punjab Kings retained zero capped players in their side, which means there are many quality players that they can target in the Auction. Among the quality options, Punjab Kings will be after the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, and Kagiso Rabada. It is very much possible for Punjab Kings to use the RTM card on all these players.

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

  1. Yuzvendra Chahal
  2. Trent Boult
  3. Ravichandran Ashwin
  4. Avesh Khan

Purse Left: 41 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 0

Rajasthan Royals retained all six players, but it didn’t have Jos Buttler in the list. It means Rajasthan Royals are pretty clear that Jos Buttler isn’t on their target list. Without Buttler, Rajasthan Royals will be after the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal. Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Avesh Khan.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

  1. Mohammed Siraj
  2. Will Jacks
  3. Glenn Maxwell
  4. Akash Deep

Purse Left: 83 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 3

Talking about Royal Challengers Bengaluru, they didn’t retain any Overseas players this time around. However, from using the RTM card or targeting the players in the Auction, RCB will be after the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Glenn Maxwell, Will Jacks, and Akash Deep.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

  1. T Natarajan
  2. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
  3. Washington Sundar
  4. Rahul Tripathi

Purse Left: 45 Cr // RTM Cards Left: 1 Uncapped

Finally, for Sunrisers Hyderabad, there aren’t many players that they would want to have from the existing squad. But if they were to target four players, they would mostly go after the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Washington Sundar, and Rahul Tripathi.

So, that’s about the best core of existing players that all 10 teams will target in the IPL 2025 Auction. 

© IPLadda

Adesh Kothari

Adesh is an author at IPLadda. He comes with extensive experience in the cricketing field covering all major ICC events and tournaments with specialties in the Indian Premier League and IPL 2025.