IPL 2022: Presenting the list of players retained by franchises

Written by

Rajdeep Saha

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Published on Nov 30, 2021, 10:21 pm

The existing eight teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have revealed the final list of players retained. The IPL 2022 season is set to be grandeur with two more teams joining in as one is set to see a mega auction. All the eight teams had to make important calls in terms of picking the right players. We present the complete retention list.

The existing eight teams will have two different combinations in terms of applying while picking the four players who would be retained. The first combination can have three Indian players and one overseas recruit. The second combination can have two Indians and two overseas players. Meanwhile, the three Indian players retained by franchises can all be capped, uncapped or even a mix of both.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have retained the services of Virat Kohli, who had stepped down as captain after the IPL 2021 season. Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell stays as well. He had a good performance in IPL 2021. Retaining pacer Mohammed Siraj seems to be a big call. RCB zeroed on these three players and have Rs. 57 crore left for the auction.

For MI, two players who had to come first in the list were pacer Jasprit Bumrah and skipper Rohit Sharma. The five-time IPL champions zeroed in on veteran Kieron Pollard next. However, they had to choose between Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav. SKY got the nod ahead of Pandya and Kishan. All four players retained, Rs. 48 crore left at auction.

Rajasthan Royals opted to keep skipper Sanju Samson. He has been their best player. Besides Samson, RR have backed the young Yashasvi Jaiswal. They have retained England's aggressive opener Jos Buttler. It was a crucial call for RR to leave out Ben Stokes, who failed to justify his price, besides missing IPL 2021. They have Rs. 62 crore left.

Reports had earlier suggested that KL Rahul wants out of Punjab Kings despite being their best player across the last three seasons. PBKS are made to do without Rahul and have retained his opening partner Mayank Agarwal. Young pacer Arshdeep Singh has also been retained. PBKS now have Rs. 72 crore left for the auction.

Sunrisers Hyderabad couldn't agree with Rashid Khan, who wanted to be the first retention of the franchise. As per Cricbuzz, this wasn't agreed upon as Kane Williamson was preferred. SRH have retained two uncapped talented youngsters in Umran Malik and Abdul Samad. Notably, Malik was the fastest Indian bowler in IPL 2021. SRH let go off David Warner. They have Rs. 68 crore left.

Kolkata Knight Riders, who reached the IPL 2021 final, have retained the services of their two premier West Indian players, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. KKR and these two veteran players have shared a special bond. The eastern giants also decided to retain Varun Chakravarthy, who made his debut for India recently. They preferred to go with Venkatesh Iyer ahead of Shubman Gill.

Chennai Super Kings were one of the first teams to reveal their retained players. They have kept skipper MS Dhoni and star Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. We all know the association of these two with the Yellow Army, playing a big role in their success. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who won the Orange Cap in IPL 2021, is retained alongside the expressive England all-rounder Moeen Ali.

Delhi Capitals decided to keep Rishabh Pant, who they see as their skipper for a long time ahead. However, they have left out Shreyas Iyer, who as per reports preferred to be in the auction pool. DC picked opener Prithvi Shaw as well. In another surprise call, DC retained Anrich Nortje and left out Kagiso Rabada. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel has been retained.

According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the two new teams can acquire three players from the player pool before the mega auction. The report added that while there is no confirmed date for the auction, the purse is likely to be Rs. 90 crore. The sum is slightly more than the Rs. 85 crore that was available in the IPL 2021 auction.

The two new IPL teams will now get to negotiate with the players not retained by the existing eight franchises. Reports have suggested that a new franchise based out of Lucknow could rope in Rahul. Meanwhile, Pandya brothers Hardik and Krunal are likely to be approached by the new Ahmedabad franchise. Shikhar Dhawan is in the radar as well.