SRH onboard Klaasen, Cummins and Abhishek Sharma

SunRisers Hyderabad may be setting the tone for their retention strategy. Cricbuzz understands that the franchise has finalized deals with Abhishek Sharma, Pat Cummins and Heinrich Klaasen, though not necessarily in that order. Additionally, it is understood that they are close to retaining two other expected names - Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

More than the names of the players retained, it is the value of the retained players that may be truly eye-popping. Heinrich Klaasen, the hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman from South Africa, appears to have hit it over the park with his signing amount. The word within the IPL circles suggests he may have inked a Rs 23-crore contract with the Hyderabad franchise. Regardless of the staggering value, it's evident that the SRH management highly values his contribution to the team, with nearly 1,000 runs in 35 IPL matches.

It is also learned that Pat Cummins has been signed for Rs 18 crore. The Australia captain, who was bought for Rs 20.50 crore last season and successfully led the side to the IPL final, has agreed to stay put at SRH. Abhishek Sharma, one of the most exciting young players in the Indian T20 circuit, has signed to stay for Rs 14 crore after a stellar showing last season, when he scored 484 runs in 16 games with a jaw-dropping strike rate of over 200 as an opener. Travis Head is also expected to stay on board, while