IPL Retentions before IPL 2022 Mega Auctions

The deadline for retention for the IPL franchises ended on 30 November 2021. The teams were allowed to retain a maximum of 4 players with caveats i.e., max 3 Indians, max 2 overseas, max 2 uncapped.

The retentions also had a major impact on the purse the teams are allowed to take into the Mega Auctions scheduled to happen in January 2022. The teams retaining four international players would have to go in with a purse of just INR 48 crore (ex. Chennai Super Kings) out of a total of INR 90 crore.

The deductions were irrespective of the amount the players actually received from the franchises – Andre Russel received 12 crore but the team’s purse was deducted by 16 crore with him being the first of the 4 retentions. Uncapped players, on the other hand, received a maximum of 4 crore in retentions.

Let’s take a look at each team and their retentions:

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

CSK retained 4 players – Ravindra Jadeja (16 crore), MS Dhoni (12 crore), Moeen Ali (8 crore), Ruturaj Gaikwad (6 crore). As expected, they retained captain MS Dhoni. Interestingly, Dhoni was not their first pick ascertaining the speculations that 2022 would be his last IPL.

Bowling allrounder Ravindra Jadeja was their first pick for 16 crore. All-rounder Moeen Ali, who retired from the longer format of the game and had no issues about availability, was also retained as third pick after MS Dhoni. Last season’s purple cap holder Ruturaj Gaikwad was the last retention for CSK.

Delhi Capitals (DC)

Delhi were the first franchise to declare their 4 retained players way before everybody else. With Shreyas Iyer deciding the go into the auctions they went for Rishabh Pant (16 Crore) as the first pick. Left-arm spinner and India’s newest Test sensation Axar Patel was their second pick for 9 crore (although 12 Crore will be deducted from the purse). Opener Prithvi Shaw (7.5 Crore but 8 Crore to be deducted) and South African pacer Anrich Nortje (6.5 Crore) were the next two picks. In a surprising move, Delhi Captials went for Nortje over Kagiso Rabada.

Mumbai Indians (MI)

Mumbai Indians, as expected, retained Rohit Sharma as their first pick for 16 Crore. The next one was a no-brainer as well in the form of Jasprit Bumrah for 12 Crore. These players pick themselves. Suryakumar Yadav is the third Indian international player MI retained for (8 Crore). For the away pick, MI went for Kieron Pollard for 6 Crore. With these picks, they have maintained the core of the team. Trent Boult would have been good, but they decided for Pollard as the away pick.

Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR)

KKR went for the destructive batting allrounder Andre Russel for their first pick at 12 crore (although 16 Crore will be deducted from KKR’s Purse). The mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was the second retention for 8 crore (although 12 Crore will be deducted from KKR’s Purse). He had a great season and a decent world cup playing for India.

Venkatesh Iyer who recently made India debut was 3rd pick for retention at 8 crore. He has had the highest jump in salary – 8 crore from 20 Lakh – among the retained players. Sunil Narine who many thought would be KKR first pick was in fact their last pick for 6 crore. Narine has been an integral part of KKR for many seasons and looks like that will continue for future seasons as well.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

RCB retained 3 players. Indian Captain Virat Kohli was an automatic pick for RCB as their first pick for 15 Crore. Being one of the best batters in the world he brings experience and skills to the table. Kohli won’t be captaining the side in 2022 though. The second retention in the form of Glenn Maxwell (11 Crore) was a tricky one. Maxwell, though has a lot of potential, hasn’t been consistent in the IPLs over the years. Their third pick is the new Indian bowling sensation Mohammed Siraj (7 crore). A classy batsman, an allrounder and an express bowler are the three players RCB have retained.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

Sunrisers Hyderabad have let go of all their international players except captain Kane Williamson (for 14 Crore). They have also retained two young uncapped players in Abdul Samad (4 Crore) and Umran Malik (4 Crore). Abdul Samad impressed with his all-round ability in the IPL 2021 while Umran Malik was praised for his express pace in his debut IPL in 2021. With just these 3 retentions, SRH will go into the auction with a purse of INR 68 Crore.

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Rajasthan Royals announced the retention of captain Sanju Samson (14 Crore) days before the deadline. On the last day, they announced two more retentions in the form of Jos Butter (10 crore) – a sensational limited-overs cricketer, and rookie opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 Crore). It seems that the Royals would have to build the new team almost from scratch especially the bowling department since none of the bowlers was retained.

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

The Punjab Kings retained just two players – the lowest among all franchises. Their first pick was the opener, and probable captain, Mayank Agarwal for 12 crore (14 crore to be deducted from the purse) and uncapped pacer Arshdeep Singh for 4 crore.

Here’s the summary of IPL retentions.

Team    Retained Players    Purse Remaining
(INR)

CSK    Ravindra Jadeja (16 crore), MS Dhoni (12 crore), Moeen Ali (8 crore), Ruturaj Gaikwad (6 crore)    48 Crore

KKR    Andre Russell (12 crore, 16 crore deduction), Varun Chakravarthy (8 crore, 12 crore deduction), Venkatesh Iyer (8 crore), Sunil Narine (6 crore)    48 Crore

SRH    Kane Williamson (14 crore), Abdul Samad (4 crore), Umran Malik (4 crore)    68 Crore

MI    Rohit Sharma (16 crore), Jasprit Bumrah (12 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (8 crore), Kieron Pollard (6 crore)    48 Crore

RCB    Virat Kohli (15 crore), Glenn Maxwell (11 crore), Mohammed Siraj (7 crore)    57 Crore

DC    Rishabh Pant (16 crore), Axar Patel (9 crore, 12 crore deduction), Prithvi Shaw (7.5 crore, 8 crore deduction), Anrich Nortje (6.5 crore)    47.50 Crore

RR    Sanju Samson (14 crore), Jos Buttler (10 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 crore)    62 Crore

PBKS    Mayank Agarwal (12 crore, 14 crore deduction), Arshdeep Singh (4 crore)    72 Crore

Some of the notable misses from the retentions were Faf du plessis (CSK), Hardik Pandya (MI), Rabada (DC), Jofra Archer (RR), Eoin Morgan (KKR), Padikkal and Chahal (RCB).