Mumbai Indians have intelligently capitalised on the IPL 2025 retention rules and brought back the core that any team would dream of, with players like Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah all back in the mix. However, one name that fans noticed missing is the star wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, as MI decided not to retain him. Ishan has been part of the MI setup since 2018 and was the most expensive buy in the 2022 mega auction.
With a total of over 100 IPL games and 2,644 runs, he was certainly an important player for MI. But what’s next? Will Mumbai get him back via the RTM card, as they have one remaining? For now, it seems impossible. But why? Since he is a key player for MI, so why MI can’t go for Ishan Kishan via RTM in the IPL 2025 mega auction
Why MI can’t use RTM for Ishan Kishan?
The reason why this wicketkeeper-batter from Jharkhand cannot get back into the MI camp, especially through the RTM card, is due to the IPL governing council rule. It was already clarified that this time, teams can retain up to six players through a combination of retentions and RTM cards. However, out of the six, only a maximum of five can be capped international players with Indians or overseas, and two can be uncapped. Now, if we look at MI’s retentions for IPL 2025, they have opted to retain Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, and Tilak Varma, all of whom are capped players. So, the international quota is filled, as Ishan himself is a capped player. This also means that the only RTM card left can be used to get an uncapped player, as at least one uncapped player is required in the mix for the six retentions.
Mumbai Indians retained players for IPL 2025
Details | Information |
Players Retained | Jasprit Bumrah (INR 18 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (INR 16.35 crore), Hardik Pandya (INR 16.35 crore), Rohit Sharma (INR 16.30 crore), Tilak Varma (INR 8 crore) |
Purse Remaining for Auction | INR 45 crore (out of INR 120 crore) |
Right-to-Match (RTM) Options | 1 |
Players Eligible for RTM | One uncapped player |