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590 cricketers will be up for grabs as ten Indian Premier League franchises enter the bidding war for the league’s much-anticipated mega auction for the 2022 edition of the tournament.
Due to be held as a two-part event in Bangalore on February 12 and 13, the mega auction will offer the teams a chance to reconstruct their squad from the pool of unretained or unsigned 590 shortlisted cricketers.
The pool of players available for the auction doesn’t include the total of 27 retentions that the longstanding eight franchises had made or the three pre-auction signings apiece that the two new entrants – Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans – did.
Here is a detailed account of the players that franchises retained or signed and the notable releases they made.
Chennai Super Kings
The defending champions opted to retain their core group of players from the first XI, keeping their legendary skipper MS Dhoni, premier allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali, as well as promising opener Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Retaining Jadeja for INR 16 crores and Dhoni for INR 12 crores, they kept Moeen and Gaikwad with them for sums of 8 and 6 crores, respectively. CSK’s notable unretained list included their veteran opener Faf du Plessis and experienced Dwayne Bravo.
Mumbai Indians
Five-time champions are focused a great deal on keeping intact their core group as well, with their successful skipper Rohit Sharma (16 crores), pacer Jasprit Bumrah (12 crores), middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav (8 crores) and allrounder Kieron Pollard (6 crores) being the notable retentions. But what truly made the news is the list of marquee names that MI could not keep with them. This list featured the likes of Quinton de Kock, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya and Trent Boult, among others.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Last year’s runners-up KKR retained their Calypso Kings Andre Russell (12 crores) and Sunil Narine (6 crores), as well as Venkatesh Iyer (8 crores). Their notable released players were skipper Eoin Morgan, opening batter Shubman Gill and premier quicks Pat Cummins and Lockie Ferguson.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB had a more straightforward tryst with retention following the retirement of AB de Villiers. They kept with them their former skipper Virat Kohli (15 crores), Glenn Maxwell (11 crores) and Mohammed Siraj (7 crores). RCB retained three players and, in the process, let go of their veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and last year’s Purple Cap holder Harshal Patel.
Delhi Capitals
One of the successful IPL teams, Capitals made four prominent retentions with the future in mind: their skipper Rishabh Pant (16 crores), left-arm spinner Axar Patel (9 crores), opener Prithvi Shaw (7.5 crores), pacer Anrich Nortje (6.5 crores). DC’s released players’ list featured two big names from India, their experienced opener Shikhar Dhawan and off-spinner R Ashwin, and South African spearhead Kagiso Rabada.
Punjab Kings
A team in need of revamp PBKS saw the departure of their skipper KL Rahul, who has parted ways with the franchises after two unsuccessful seasons at the helm of affairs. PBKS made only two retentions in the form of their experienced middle-order bat Mayank Agarwal (INR 12 crores) and uncapped pacer Arshdeep Singh (4 crores). Apart from Rahul, PBKS’ released list included promising wristspinner Ravi Bishnoi and explosive end-overs batter Shahrukh Khan.
Rajasthan Royals
The inaugural season winner kept with them their skipper Sanju Samson (14 crores), star wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler (12 crores) and young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 crores). Their two biggest unreleased names are express quick Jofra Archer and premier allrounder Ben Stokes.
Lucknow Super Giants
In the pre-auction signing process, SG drafted three big names in their squad from the allotted purse, with Rahul appointed their skipper for 17 crores, allrounder Marcus Stoinis coming on board for 9.2 crores and Ravi Bishnoi for 4 crores. This means Lucknow now have a remaining purse of INR 59.2 crores to construct their playing squad at the auction.
Gujarat Titans
Titans’ three major signings have been their skipper and allrounder Hardik Pandya for INR 15 crores, wristspinner Rashid Khan for 15 crores and young elegant opening batter Gill for 8 crores. This leaves Titans with a remaining purse of 52 crores for the mega auction in Bangalore.
The retentions were made as per a basic rule that allowed teams to keep a maximum of four players, with amounts deducted per retention from their purse for the auction. To create a level-playing field, BCCI and IPL governing council gave the two new franchises a chance to make a maximum of three pre-auction signings.
Franchises could retain a maximum of two overseas players with them. The cap in the overseas category was one for the two new franchises based in Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
Among the cricketers available for the auction, 49 have registered with the maximum base price of INR 2 crores and ten of them are part of the marquee list of cricketers that will kick off the bidding war. This sub-list includes 17 Indians and 32 overseas stars as the 2022 season promises to be bigger and better than ever before.
