Last update:October 31, 2024, 6:16 p.m. IST

Here’s a look at seven star players who weren’t retained by their IPL 2024 franchises ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

7 surprise releases ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction. (Photo credit: PTI)

All 10 IPL teams on Thursday (October 31) released their list of retained players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. While many top players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Pat Cummins and Rashid Khan were retained by their respective franchises, a few of them were not, and they will now enter the mega IPL 2025 auctions, which are expected to take place next month.

Here’s a look at seven shocking releases ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction:

Rishabh pants: Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who led Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024, will take part in the IPL 2025 mega auction after he was not retained by the franchise. Pant is DC’s most capped player in IPL history and also holds the record for most points for the franchise. Rishabh is 27 years old and will have no shortage of suitors in the mega auctions.

Shreyas Iyer: Shreyas Iyer won the IPL 2024 title with Kolkata Knight Riders as captain but was surprisingly released by the franchise. The 29-year-old right-handed batter is a quality cricketer who can win matches single-handedly with the bat, and on top of that, his leadership will make him a player to watch out for in the IPL 2025 mega auction.

KL Rahul: LSG signed KL Rahul ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, and in the last three years, the 32-year-old right-handed batter has scored the most runs for them and finished as the top scorer in IPL 2022 and 2024. But despite his good show with the bat, he was released by the Lucknow-based franchise.

Jos Buttler: Jos Buttler was part of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL since 2018, but surprisingly, he was not in the list of six players retained by the Jaipur-based franchise. Buttler is one of the best foreign hitters in the IPL, and he is also a T20 World Cup winner as England captain.

Mohammed Shami: Indian speedster Mohammed Shami missed IPL 2024 due to injury issues, but in the previous two seasons, he was in fine form for the Ahmedabad-based franchise. Shami was expected to be retained by the Shubman Gill-led team, but he was left out, perhaps due to fitness concerns.

Yuzvendra Chahal: Chahal is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL, but he was not included in the list of six players retained by the winners of the inaugural edition. Instead of Chahal, RR decided to retain Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer and Sandeep Sharma.

Archdeep Singh: Punjab Kings decided to retain two players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, but there was no room for Arshdeep Singh. The left-arm pacer is one of the best T20I players of the current era, and he was in fine form for the Indian team in the 2024 T20 World Cup.