As 2018 IPL nears, we are already through the first stage, i.e. announcement of players retained ahead of the all-important auction on January 27 and 28.
In the announcement event that took place at Taj Land”s, Mumbai, teams revealed which players form a part of their plan of attack going forward. Quite a few retentions were no-brainers, while a couple of teams did manage to raise eyebrows.
Here”s a look at the list of players retained by the franchises:
Chennai Super Kings- MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/948912500996636672
The men in yellow are back with a bang! Going ahead, they have kept things very simple. Their three retentions are MS Dhoni (15 cr), Suresh Raina (11 cr) and Ravindra Jadeja (7 cr). MSD will be again at the helm of affairs with IPL”s most successful batsman Suresh Raina and a very crafty all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. For obvious reasons, these three players from the core of the side around which they will be building a team. CSK will go into the auction with a purse of 47 crores.
Delhi Daredevils – Chris Morris Rishab Pant, Shreyas Iyer
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/948915627477024768
Delhi Daredevils are always a team who believe in a lot of chopping and changing. This mantra has backfired them in previous years as the franchise hasn”t been able to build a core. This time around, they have changed their core plan. Their three retentions are Chris Morris (8cr), Rishab Pant (7.1 cr) and Shreyas Iyer (7 cr). Morris being one of the most destructive all-rounders was a natural choice. They have decided to go in with youngsters Rishab Pant and Shreyas Iyer as other two retentions. DD is bringing in a high-profile coach, Ricky Ponting for IPL 2018. DD”s remaining purse is 47 crore.
Kings XI Punjab – Axar Patel
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/948914170757496838
After their successful 2014 season, the Punjabis have had a hard time in the cash-rich league, failing to make it to the playoffs 3 years in a row. They are looking to start from scratch and build an entirely new side with only Axar Patel in common from their last year”s squad. In their previous few tough campaigns, Axar was one of the few positives. KXIP have roped in Brad Hodge as head coach. Kings XI will go into the auction with 67.5 crores in the kitty.
Kolkata Knight Riders – Sunil Narine and Andre Russell
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/948913451493048320
Eyebrows were raised when KKR announced that Gautam Gambhir is not going to be in their plans going ahead, which left KKR without a skipper. When KKR”s turn to announce players came, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell”s names flashed on the screen. Even though they managed to keep two very valuable foreign players, KKR will be hunting for a captain at the auction. KKR still have 59 crores in their bag.
Mumbai Indians – Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/948911854406942720
The defending champions had a dream team last season and it would have been extremely tricky for them to figure out which players they want as their top 3 retentions. Eventually, MI came up with 3 obvious ones, Rohit Sharma (15 cr), Hardik Pandya (11 cr) and Jasprit Bumrah (7 cr). Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya are the ones on whom MI will most likely use RTMs. MI”s remaining purse is 47 crores.
Royal Challengers Bangalore – Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Sarfaraz Khan.
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/948909242051801088
Like many other teams, RCB”s first two retentions were no-brainers. However , veryone was flabbergasted when they saw Sarfaraz Khan”s name at third place. It is pretty much a strategic decision since the cost of retaining a capped player is only 3 crores. Yuzvendra Chahal and KL Rahul are the other names they would have considered. RCB”s purse is 49 crores.
Rajasthan Royals – Steve Smith
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/948909989560688640
Rajasthan Royals making a comeback after 2 years have gone for Steve Smith as their lone retention. In all likelihood, Smith is likely to lead the Royals again. Ajinkya Rahane could be on the cards for RTM as the franchise looks to build an entirely new side with their remaining 67.5 crores.
Sunrisers Hyderabad – David Warner and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/948912932531744769
The Orange Army has also decided to keep things simple and go for two retentions, two obvious ones, David Warner and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Last season, Warner and Bhuvaneshwar were the orange cap and purple cap holders respectively. It leaves them with 3 RTMS now. They will go into the auction with 59 crores.
– by Atharva Apte
