IPL Retention Day: Venkatesh Iyer, Bishnoi, Akash Deep, Maxwell set to face the axe

Mini-auctions in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are typically not occasions for major overhauls. Franchises generally assess players based on supply versus demand and performance versus price.

Following this practice, few big names from last season's costly buys are expected to be released. Venkatesh Iyer appears to be the exception, with Kolkata Knight Riders reportedly considering releasing their most expensive purchase from the mega auction.

Most top 15 buys from the 2024 mega auction seem secure, including:

• Rishabh Pant (Rs 27 crore)
• Shreyas Iyer (Rs 26.75 crore)
• Arshdeep Singh (Rs 18 crore)
• Yuzvendra Chahal (Rs 18 crore)
• Jos Buttler (Rs 15.75 crore)
• KL Rahul (Rs 14 crore)
• Trent Boult (Rs 12.5 crore)
• Jofra Archer (Rs 12.5 crore)
• Josh Hazlewood (Rs 12.5 crore)
• Mohammed Siraj (Rs 12.25 crore)
• Mitchell Starc (Rs 11.75 crore)
• Phil Salt (Rs 11.50 crore)
• Ishan Kishan (Rs 11.25 crore)
• Marcus Stoinis (Rs 11 crore)

Venkatesh Iyer, bought for Rs 23.75 crore, managed only 142 runs from 11 games last season. KKR may attempt to buy him back at a lower price, but he's currently marked for release.

Other notable releases include Quinton de Kock (Rs 3.6 crore) and Anrich Nortje (Rs 6.5 crore). KKR are expected to have Rs 35-40 crore for the mini-auction and could target Cameron Green.

KKR will retain captain Ajinkya Rahane (Rs 1.5 crore), their highest scorer last season with 390 runs at a strike rate near 150. The franchise had explored trading for KL Rahul for captaincy, but talks with Delhi Capitals fell through.

SunRisers Hyderabad will retain Heinrich Klaasen (Rs 23 crore) despite his modest 487 runs from 13 games. SRH completed a trade with Lucknow SuperGiants for Mohammed Shami.

Lucknow SuperGiants have acquired Mohammed Shami (Rs 10 crore) and Arjun Tendulkar through trades while trading Shardul Thakur to Mumbai Indians. They will retain Mayank Yadav despite his fitness issues, but are releasing Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 11 crore), who took 9 wickets from 11 games and was outperformed by Digvesh Rathi (14 wickets from 13 games). David Miller and potentially Shamar Joseph will also be released.

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, last season's bottom-placed teams, are making significant changes. The highly-publicised trade of Ravindra Jadeja and Sanju Samson between the teams is expected to proceed despite technical hurdles.

CSK are expected to release Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar and Jamie Overton among others. Royals are likely to part with Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Kwena Maphaka.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings, last season's finalists, are making minimal changes. RCB may release Mayank Agarwal, Liam Livingstone, Blessing Muzarabani and Rasikh Dar. Punjab Kings are likely to release Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Praveen Dubey and Vishnu Vinod.

Mumbai Indians have acquired Mayank Markande from Knight Riders after trading Arjun Tendulkar to LSG. Will Jacks may be released. Delhi Capitals should release T Natarajan and Jake Fraser-McGurk.

*Names mentioned above are potential releases; not final