RR set to retain Samson, Parag, Jaiswal, Sandeep, but undecided on Jurel

Rajasthan Royals are expected to retain Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Sandeep Sharma, as reported by ESPNCricinfo. Retaining four players will leave RR with two right-to-match (RTM) cards in case they want to draft a player back into their squad in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega-auction. 

Sandeep Sharma will be retained under the uncapped player rule, which will cost RR only INR 4 crore. The IPL brought back the rule which enables Indian players who played their last international match five years ago or more to participate as uncapped players. Sandeep played two T20Is for India back in 2015. 

Hence, while the price for each player isn’t known yet, retaining these five will deduct a minimum of INR 47 crore from the allocated budget of INR 120 crore per team.

ESPNCricinfo also reported that RR are still deciding whether to retain Dhruv Jurel. However, he will be their fourth capped player on the retention list, which will deduct another 18 crore from their budget. 

RR can also pay them more, in which case the higher amount will be deducted from their purse. The maximum amount to retain five players can reach INR 75 crore. 

Samson has been with RR since 2013, barring the two seasons he played for Delhi Daredevils when RR didn’t feature in the tournament. Jaiswal and Parag have also been an integral part of this team, having played all their IPL cricket for the Jaipur-based franchise: Jaiswal since 2020 and Parag since 2019. 

Jurel has also only represented RR in IPL. Making his mark in his debut year in 2023, Jurel made his way into the Indian Test team. 

Meanwhile, Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal are the notable absentees on RR’s retention list. The franchise can use the RTM card to re-acquire them both. But in case Jurel is also retained, RR will be left with only one RTM card. 

All franchises must confirm the list of their retained players by October 31. However, the dates for the mega-auction are yet to be determined.

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