Rourke leads Lions past Stampeders, into West Division final

The IPL 2025 retentions are here and there were quite a few surprises in store for the fans. Three major captains - Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer - will all enter the IPL auction pool after they were not retained by Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants and defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders respectively. Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, kept their core intact by keeping all four of their superstars - Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. Punjab Kings retained just 2 players while KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad retained six cricketers. (IPL 2025 Retention Highlights)

IPL 2025 Retention Highlights: All the 10 Indian Premier League franchises have announced their list of retained players ahead of the 2025 auction. Virat Kohli has been retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 21 crore but his record of fetching highest retention amount in IPL history has been broken by Heinrich Klaasen. The wicketkeeper-batter has been retained by SunRisers Hyderabad for a massive sum of Rs 23 crore, making him the costiest player ever retained in the tournament. Before this, the record was held by Kohli with a retention amount of Rs 17 crore. Notably, three major captains Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will be entering the IPL auction. Among the other highlights was Mumbai Indians releasing Ishan Kishan and Chennai Super Kings retaining MS Dhoni as an uncapped player for Rs 4 crore. (Full List Of Retained Players)

Shubman Gill was not named as Gujarat Titans' most expensive retention, with that honour going to Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. The franchise also kept hold of two surprise uncapped Indian players. Gujarat Titans left everyone utterly impressed as they clinched the IPL title in their inaugural season in 2022. Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, they went on to play the final in IPL 2023 but lost lost to Chennai Super Kings. However in 2024, Hardik left the Gujarat-based franchise to reunite with his old team Mumbai Indians and Shubman Gill took as the skipper of the team. In that season, GT failed to get through the playoffs. GT have now announced the names of their retained players for the upcoming mega auctions.

Virat Kohli was retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. Alongside him, RCB retained only two more players: middle order batter Rajat Patidar and uncapped Indian fast bowler Yash Dayal. This meant that Mohammad Siraj, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell are among the big names let go by RCB. All the ten franchises were asked to submit the names of their retained players by Thursday, October 31. RCB, who played under the captaincy of batter Faf du Plessis, entered the Playoffs but lost in the Eliminator match against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024. However, their turn-around in the season became one of the major highlights as they won six matches on the trot, to enter the Playoffs. 

Heinrich Klaasen became the highest-ever retention in Indian Premier League (IPL) history as IPL 2024 runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad announced their list of the retained players ahead of the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. Captain Pat Cummins was also retained, alongside Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Reddy and Travis Head. The auctions are reportedly to be held at the end of November in Saudi Arabia. As per BCCI's rule, all the ten franchises were asked to submit the final list of their retained players by Thursday, October 31. Playing under the captaincy of Australia pacer Pat Cummins, SRH finished as the first runners-up after losing to Kolkata Knight Riders in the final. 

IPL 2024 champions Kolkata Knight Riders have announced their retentions for the upcoming mega auctions. KKR put an end to rumours, keeping hold of star West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell. However, IPL 2024-winning captain Shreyas Iyer was not retained by KKR. As per BCCI's rule, all the ten franchises were asked to submit the final list of their retained players by Thursday, October 31. KKR are one of only two franchises who have retained all six players before the mega auction, meaning they will have no Right to Match (RTM) cards.

KL Rahul's departure was confirmed as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) announced their retentions ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. Instead, a whopping Rs 21 cr was awarded to West Indian batter Nicholas Pooran, who is their highest retention. Under the captaincy of KL Rahul, LSG qualified for the Playoffs in 2022 and 2023. However in 2024, they failed to reach the knockout stage. West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran has been retained as the top priority player for Rs 18 crore. The team has parted ways with KL Rahul, who will now be going under the hammer in the auctions. 

LONDON :Beauden Barrett will start at flyhalf for New Zealand against England on Saturday, with his brothers Scott and Jordie also in the powerful-looking side named by coach Scott Robertson on Thursday.

Manchester United hit the reset button again by sacking manager Erik ten Hag with the team mired in mid-table mediocrity and Ruud van Nistelrooy will be in charge for the home Premier League game against Chelsea on Sunday.