Tom Moody, a former Australian cricketer, feels that the Punjab Kings should not keep any capped players ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. While there have been indications that PBKS is contemplating Arshdeep Singh as their lone retention, Moody believes the franchise could look into using the right-to-match option for cricketers such as Arshdeep, Sam Curran, and Kagiso Rabada. The IPL-winning coach also mentioned that young wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma could be a viable choice for using the RTM card.
Moody named Harpreet Brar, an all-rounder, and Shashank Singh, an aggressive batter, as the top uncapped players. However, according to media reports, there is a possibility that Shashank may choose to enter his name in the auction in order to draw
“For Punjab Kings, I don’t think I’d keep any players, especially capped players, but I’d look to use the right-to-match alternative for players like Arshdeep Singh, Tom Curran, and Rabada.” Jitesh Sharma is another person for whom I would consider using the right-to-match in the auction. When it comes to uncapped players, I’d like to capture two good players before the auction: Shashank Singh, a decent middle-order power bat who had a wonderful season last year, and Harpreet Brar, a left-arm spinner,” Moody told Star Sports.
Meanwhile, with the IPL 2025 super auction retention deadline approaching on October 31, all ten clubs will be finalizing their retention strategies. The Kolkata Knight Riders However, sources have told IANS that the retention status of their title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer is currently uncertain, as other players such as West Indies duo Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, as well as middle-order batter Rinku Singh, wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, and uncapped fast-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana, who recently received a call-up for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, are ahead in the race to be retained by the franchise.
While Narine and Russell were the franchise’s all-rounders, Chakravarthy was a prominent role in the spin department, taking 21 wickets at an economy rate of 8.04. These performances cleared the path for his return to the Indian team for the T20Is against Bangladesh this month and selection for next month’s.