With the IPL retention window coming to a close and all teams required to finalise their list of players that they would want to hold on to by November 30, the cricket world is rife with rumours and speculation regarding the auction strategy of each franchise.
Each of the existing teams can retain up to four players, with a maximum of three Indians and two foreigners, in whatever combination. The purse deductions have also been revealed previously, and a team retaining four players will lose a sum of Rs.42 Crore from their total auction purse of Rs.90 Crore.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings have reportedly finalised the first three picks and have chosen to retain captain MS Dhoni for the next three years, along with talisman all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and rising superstar Ruturaj Gaikwad, who walked away with the orange cap in the 2021 edition of the IPL.
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Chennai’s fourth choice remains unclear as of now, with reports suggesting that the franchise is currently in talks with England all-rounder Moeen Ali. However, if the deal with Ali fails to go through, Chennai will be looking to go after his England compatriot Sam Curran.
November 30 is the deadline for the retention announcements, and with the auction set to tentatively take place in January, it could be the case that December would be the time when the new teams will draft those players who have not been retained by their previous franchises.
With two new groups placing the winning bid for the teams from Lucknow and Ahmedabad, it will be interesting to see which players will end up getting picked in the draft. From a CSK perspective, Dhoni is all but confirmed to continue in the yellow after a lot of discussion surrounding his future after the 2021 IPL.
“Again, I’ve said it before, it depends on BCCI. With two new teams coming in. We have to decide what is good for CSK. It’s not about me being there in top-three or four. It’s about making a strong core to ensure the franchise doesn’t suffer.
The core group, we have to have a hard look to see who can contribute for the next 10 years.”
Dhoni had said after winning the 2021 Premier League final.
In other news, many reputable media outlets have reported that Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul has declined an extension with the franchise and has decided to leave.
There are also reports suggesting that the wicketkeeper-batsman has already agreed to become the captain of the Lucknow franchise as the two new franchises look to make the best use out of their draft picks. If these reports are to be believed, he will be leading the Lucknow franchise in the upcoming edition of the Premier League.
As for the Delhi Capitals, they are set to finalise their four retentions for the next season, and have decided to go with Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, and Anrich Nortje.
It has also been pointed out that former captain Shreyas Iyer wanted to return as captain, but the Capitals management have their hearts set on Rishabh Pant, who did a commendable job as skipper this season.
