Heinrich Klaasen To Get Whopping 23 Cr From SRH; IPL Future Of Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma Also Revealed: Report

Ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2025, Sunrisers Hyderabad is set to retain South Africa star batter Heinrich Klaasen. As per ESPNcricinfo, Klaasen is likely to get INR 23 crore as the first retained player. The Hyderabad-based franchise has also decided two other names to retain. Australian stalwart Pat Cummins who led the side in IPL 2024 will get INR 18 crore. Star all-rounder Abhishek Sharma will get INR 14 crore.

The reports also stated that Sunrisers Hyderabad is likely to decide on the retention of Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy.  The likes of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma came out as the lethal opening pair in last year’s IPL. The duo smashed the ball with 200-plus strike rates. 

Australia's batter Travis Head ended the season with 567 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 191.55 while Abhishek Sharma batted with a strike rate of 194.84 in IPL 2024. Klaasen on the other hand collected 927 runs in 26 innings at a strike rate of 174 in his two seasons at Sunrisers so far.

As per new IPL retention rules, franchises can retain up to six players from their previous squads, including a combination of capped and uncapped players. This strategic move allows teams to maintain a core group while refreshing their roster.  

The total auction purse for IPL 2025 has been increased to Rs 120 crore. This substantial boost provides teams with more financial flexibility to build competitive squads during the auction. Teams can retain a maximum of five capped players (Indian or overseas) and two uncapped players. This structure aims to enhance competition while allowing franchises to keep emerging talents. The Indian players who haven't played international cricket or held a BCCI contract in the last five years will be classified as uncapped players.