Chennai Super Kings (CSK) cleverly utilised the uncapped player rule to retain their iconic captain, MS Dhoni, for a nominal fee of Rs 4 crore. This rule, which was in effect from 2008 to 2021, allows Indian players who haven't represented the national team in the past five years to be retained as uncapped players. CSK took advantage of this provision to secure Dhoni's services for the upcoming IPL season.
MS Dhoni, who retired from international cricket in August 2020 (his last match was in July 2019), was retained by Chennai Super Kings as an uncapped player for Rs 4 crore.
Sandeep Sharma retained in MS Dhoni's fashion
Apart from CSK, Rajasthan Royals (RR) also utilised this rule to retain Sandeep Sharma as an uncapped player for Rs 4 crore. Sandeep, a member of the 2012 U-19 World Cup-winning team, made his India debut in 2015 during a T20I series against Zimbabwe under Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy.
Sandeep Sharma, who hadn't played international cricket for nine years, was categorized as an uncapped player under the aforementioned rule. Despite being a skilled new-ball bowler with a knack for taking wickets, Sandeep surprisingly went unsold in the IPL 2023 mini-auction. Sandeep Sharma was called up by Rajasthan Royals before the IPL 2024 season as a replacement for Prasidh Krishna. His impressive performance for RR earned him a well-deserved retention in the IPL 2025 player retention process.
With a career spanning 127 matches, Sandeep has claimed 137 wickets in the IPL. He has also achieved notable milestones, including one five-wicket haul and two four-wicket hauls. Throughout his IPL career, he has represented Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in addition to Rajasthan Royals.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) made significant decisions during the IPL 2025 player retention process. They retained Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal for a substantial amount of Rs 18 crore each. Additionally, the franchise retained Dhruv Jurel (Rs 14 crore), Riyan Parag (Rs 14 crore), and Shimron Hetmyer (Rs 11 crore).
RR opted not to retain Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal. As a result, they will not have the Right to Match (RTM) card to use in the upcoming mega auction.
