SRH Retentions: Hyderabad Set To Shell Out WHOPPING Rs 23 Crore For Star Player. Hint: He's Not Pat Cummins Or Travis Head!

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are likely to pay a whopping amount of Rs 23 crore to one of their players for retaining him, and it's not captain Pat Cummins or Travis Head. Find out who.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are likely to retain Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen as their top-three picks ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025 season’s mega auction, scheduled to take place later this year. Surprisingly, SRH are reportedly ready to splurge out Rs 23 crore for the South African wicket-keeper batter, Heinrich Klaasen. Notably, SRH reached the finals of the IPL 2024 and lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the marquee clash.

As per a report run by ESPNcricinfo, Klaasen is set to be the top retention choice for the IPL 2024 finalists and he is set to get Rs 23 crore (USD 2.74 million approx.). The other two players SRH are prioritising for retention are captain Pat Cummins and opener Abhishek Sharma, who are set to get Rs 18 crore (USD 2.14 million approx.) and Rs 14 crore (USD 1.67 million approx) respectively.

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Head, Reddy Also On SRH's Radar For Retention

The report also adds that SRH are eyeing opener Travis Head and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who are set to be the franchise’s 4th and 5th retention picks. Notably, October 31 is the deadline for retention lists to be submitted by the IPL teams ahead of the mega auction.

The above-mentioned players stood out as key players for SRH during their IPL 2024 campaign. Heinrich Klaasen was their third-highest run-scorer with 479 runs at a strike rate of 171.07, while captain Cummins took 18 wickets. Abhishek Sharma, their second-highest run-getter, consistently provided explosive starts, amassing 484 runs at a strike rate of 204.21. 

Nitish Kumar Reddy won IPL's Emerging Player award, with 303 runs and three wickets. Travis Head also shone as SRH's best batter, scoring 567 runs as an opener with a strike rate of 191.55, emerging as SRH’s highest run-getter in the season and fourth highest overall.

For the unversed, the IPL Governing Council recently announced new rules ahead of the 2025 mega auction, setting the auction purse for each team at Rs 120 crore. The retention slabs for capped players are set at Rs 18 crore, Rs 14 crore and Rs 11 crore for the first three retentions, and INR 18 crore and INR 14 crore for the next two. Uncapped Indian players can fetch up to Rs 4 crore. Franchises have flexibility in distributing the capped retention budget of Rs 75 crore among five capped players.

How Can SRH Pay Klaasen Rs 23 Crore If Slab Is Set For 18 Crore?

Notably, the retention slabs set by the BCCI represent the minimum amount deducted from a team's salary cap for retaining a player. If a team opts to pay a player more, the can do so and their auction budget will decrease accordingly.