Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings
The eight existing IPL teams are poised to announce their player retention for the next three-year auction cycle on the 30th of November. The eight franchisees can retain up to four players from their existing squad, with a maximum of three Indians and up to two overseas stars.
Retaining four players would cost almost half of a team’s INR 90 Cr auction purse, and the cost of retaining the players is as follows:
● 4 players – 42 Cr (16 Cr, 12 Cr, 8 Cr and 6 Cr)
● 3 players – 33 Cr (15 Cr, 11 Cr and 7 Cr)
● 2 players – 22 Cr (14 Cr and 10 Cr)
● 1 player – 14 Cr (14 Cr if capped and 4 Cr if uncapped)
Here is who we think the remaining four teams should retain.
**Warning – This isn’t what they will do, but what we think they SHOULD do.**
▶ CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
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Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Faf du Plessis
Notable Omissions: MS Dhoni, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo
CSK are going to retain MS Dhoni, a man that is entwined in every fibre of the franchise. However, as seen in IPL 2021, his powers on the field have dwindled, and for everything he provides with his captaincy, he takes away part of it when he comes out to bat.
For their four retentions, Ruturaj Gaikwad (2021 IPL Orange Cap winner) and Ravindra Jadeja, are shoe-ins. while the third Indian retention could be Deepak Chahar, who is an excellent swing-bowler who offers decent value at 6 Cr. But in our mind, CSK should look to fill two overseas slots if they weren’t retaining MSD with Faf du Plessis, who proved his worth with the bat last season – finishing as the 2nd highest run-scorer and offers the leadership quotient too – while Moeen Ali offers better balance to the team given the all-round abilities and is the younger, more explosive pick.
▶ KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
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Shubman Gill, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine
Notable Omissions: Venkatesh Iyer
KKR’s trip to the final in 2021 has muddied the waters slightly, giving them a problem of plenty when it comes to their retentions. Venkatesh Iyer is unlucky to miss out after his emergence in the UAE, but given he only played 10 IPL games, it’s difficult to ascertain how good he actually is, once bowlers figure him out too.
Shubman Gill is yet to work out T20 cricket as an opener, but remains a good long-term bet alongside mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. Joining them are the West Indians – Andre Russell and Sunil Narine – who when fully fit, are two of the most valuable T20 cricketers in world cricket.
▶ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
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Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, Yuzvendra Chahal
Notable Omissions: Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj
AB de Villiers’ retirement has left an irreplaceable hole in this side, but Glenn Maxwell’s performance in IPL 2021 has guaranteed him retention, albeit at a slightly cheaper price compared to the last auction. Virat Kohli has stepped down from the captaincy, but it is a foregone conclusion that the leading run-scorer in IPL history will remain at the team.
Devdutt Padikkal has shown enough promise in his two seasons to warrant future investment, while Yuzvendra Chahal edges out Harshal Patel and Siraj for the final retention spot due to his international pedigree and experience.
▶ PUNJAB KINGS
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Kl Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Ravi Bishnoi
Notable Omissions: Nicholas Pooran, Mohammad Shami
Punjab Kings are another team in desperate need of a rebuild after failing to reach the IPL playoffs since 2014. If possible, their number one retention pick must be KL Rahul, although the reports suggest that the opener isn’t too keen on extending his stay in Mohali.
Alongside Rahul, Mayank Agarwal has impressed throughout the last four seasons with Punjab, striking at over 140 in each of the last three seasons. The final retention pick has to be Ravi Bishnoi, who has shown incredible maturity and guile with the ball, picking up 24 wickets at an economy of under 7 in 23 IPL matches for the Kings.
Punjab’s overseas players let them down massively in IPL 2021, and the wise decision might be to start afresh in 2022 with a new set of players.
Shivaan Shah