Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) is set to make a bumper announcement regarding their retention. As reported by many sources, they are set to keep the hard-hitting South African batter Heinrich Klassen for a huge price of INR 23 crore. This is expected to be the franchise’s first retention.
Their captain and the Australian all-rounder, Pat Cummins, is expected to sign the deal for INR 18 crore, having carried the team to the runners-up position in the last season of the tournament. The opening batter and the all-rounder for India, Abhishek Sharma, has been set for a price of INR 14 crore.
Cummins is expected to continue leading Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2025 edition despite having the Ashes 2025/26 in the bumper summer of their calendar. Recently, the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council (GC) announced that the teams can retain a combination of six players, with no limit on retentions and a right-to-match (RTM) card.
Sunrisers Hyderabad has yet to decide on the retentions of Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
The Proteas wicket-keeper batter smashed 479 runs in 16 games at an average of nearly 40 and a strike rate of over 170, shouldering on four half-centuries with a best score of unbeaten 80. That was enough for the franchise to keep him for the first retention.
Cummins, besides his captaincy, was decent with the ball in hand, having picked up 18 wickets in 16 games at an average of around 30 and an economy rate of 9.28. Abhishek Sharma was the most energetic change at the top order for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2024, with 484 runs in 16 innings at an average of 32.27 and a strike rate of 204.22, thanks to his three half-centuries.
The team management is yet to decide on the retention of Travis Head and their young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. The left-handed Australian had a terrific time in the opening position with 567 runs in 15 innings at an average of over 40 and a strike rate of more than 190, with the help of four half-centuries and one century with a best score of 102.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, who recently made his T20I debut against Bangladesh and smashed 74 in his second game in Delhi, is anticipated to be the game changer for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the future. The all-rounder, who can’t be slotted as an uncapped player now, notched up 303 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of over 140, thanks to his two half-centuries.
The purse for the 2024 auction is INR 120 crore, with various retention slabs. The first and fourth retained players will bag INR 18 crore, while the second and fifth will pocket INR 14 crore, with the third getting the lowest of INR 11 crore. But the franchises, as Sunrisers Hyderabad has, are allowed to break the INR 75 crore among the five capped players as they wish.
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The partnership of Cummins and coach Daniel Vettori allowed youngsters like Abhishek and Reddy to flourish in the company of Head and Klassen, and smashing over 220 was the basic part of the planning for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The deadline for the retention is October 31, and if the Sunrisers Hyderabad goes on to cement these five players for the retention department, they will have one RTM card, which can only be used for an uncapped player at the mega auction, likely to take place on the last week of November.