IPL 2018 Player Retention: From MS Dhoni to Virat Kohli, complete list of retained players

In the first step towards reforming their squads for the 2018 IPL, the franchise retained key players before the mega auction in the IPL Retention ceremony held in Mumbai on Thursday. Here’s the list of players retained by the eight franchises. Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will once again be seen in his favourite yellow jersey in the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2018 season as the Chennai Super Kings retained the Ranchi stumper along with Suresh Raina and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. [caption id=“attachment_1508473” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of MS Dhoni. BCCI[/caption] Dhoni has been retained for Rs 15 crore while Raina and Jadeja were kept for Rs 11 crore and Rs 7 crore, respectively. The CSK franchise, back into the IPL fold after serving a two-year ban, has two Right-to-Match options left, which they can use during the IPL auction on 27 and 28 January. Deduction because of player retention: Rs 33 Crore Salary cap remaining: Rs 47 Crore Right-to-Match cards remaining: 2 Rajasthan Royals: Steven Smith Rajasthan Royals, the other franchise to return after a two-year ban, retained Australia skipper Steve Smith and surprisingly pushed the likes of star batsman Ajinkya Rahane back into the auction pool. Deduction because of player retention: Rs 12.5 Crore Salary cap remaining: Rs 67.5 Crore Right-to-Match cards remaining: 3 Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell The other surprise came in the form of Gautam Gambhir, who was sent into the auction pool despite guiding the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to lifting the silverware twice (2012 and 2014). The Shah Rukh Khan-co-owned franchise retained the West Indian duo of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Deduction because of player retention: Rs 21 Crore Salary cap remaining: Rs 59 Crore Right-to-Match cards remaining: 3 Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) retained India skipper Virat Kohli, South African AB de Villiers and young Sarfraz Khan. Deduction because of player retention: Rs 31 Crore Salary cap remaining: Rs 49 Crore Right-to-Match cards remaining: 2 Delhi Daredevils: Rishabh Pant, Chris Morris, Shreyas Iyer Delhi Daredevils retained the young Indian duo of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer along with South African all-rounder Chris Morris. Deduction because of player retention: Rs 33 Crore Salary cap remaining: Rs 47 Crore Right-to-Match cards remaining: 2 Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah Mumbai Indians also went along expected lines and retained their three-time IPL winning skipper Rohit Sharma along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya and death-overs bowling specialist Jasprit Bumrah. Rohit guided the Mumbai franchise to IPL titles in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Deduction because of player retention: Rs 33 Crore Salary cap remaining: Rs 47 Crore Right-to-Match cards remaining: 2 Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Sunrisers Hyderabad sprang a surprise by not retaining India opener Shikhar Dhawan and Afghanistan spin sensation Rashid Khan. They however retained Australian David Warner along with pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Deduction because of player retention: Rs 21 Crore Salary cap remaining: Rs 59 Crore Right-to-Match cards remaining: 3 Kings XI Punjab: Axar Patel After another dismal outing in 2017, Kings XI Punjab retained just left-arm spinner Axar Patel for the next season. Deduction because of player retention: Rs 12.5 Crore Salary cap remaining: Rs 67.5 Crore Right-to-Match cards remaining: 3 Below is the table of the players retained by each franchise using the Player Retention option                              With inputs from IANS