IPL 2018: Players that teams may retain

The Governing Council of IPL chaired by Rajiv Shukla announced new retention policies and salary cap for IPL 2018, which will also witness the comeback of widely admired Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Both the teams were suspended for two years by Supreme Court appointed Lodha Committee. Some players of both the teams were found guilty of spot-fixing and the former owners Raj Kundra and Gurunath Meiyappan were involved in some illegal betting activities, as a result they faced a lifetime ban from Cricket.

According to the new retention policy all teams can retain upto five players with the combination of pre-auction retention and ‘Right to Match’ or RTM cards, while using either of them only three times. A franchise not opting to directly retain any player will still be allowed only a maximum of three RTMs at the player auction.

So, which players may be retained by the teams in IPL 2018? Let’s take a look!

Mumbai Indians

Current title-holders, MI has been a consistent team in the previous few seasons. MI has been a very stable team with little to no change on their side. In 2018 as well, they would prefer to keep their team away from any big changes.

MI, in all probability, will certainly retain their skipper Rohit Sharma, who has won them the title twice in his leadership. Either of the overseas pacers, Lasith Malinga or Mitchell McClenaghan may be retained while the management will not look to release Caribbean firepower Kieron Pollard. Jasprit Bumrah, with his current form, looks like a clear choice to be retained by the team while Harbhajan Singh too might be retained with all his experience. It is also quite clear that MI will want to buy back Pandya brothers reviewing their performances in IPL, international and domestic games. The management will have a tough time as

Players MI may retain and/or buy-back: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Harbhajan Singh.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB has become a fan favourite in last 4 or 5 years. Earlier it was considered to be a weak team but now RCB has the strongest bench strength. The team has performed consistently well in last couple of seasons with Indian skipper Virat Kohli leading the side. So, it’s clear that RCB won’t let go of his captain in the upcoming season as well. Other than that, RCB’s owners won’t be interested in releasing the former South African captain AB de Villiers and the young Indian all-rounder Kedar Jadhav. Mitchell Starc has also been in remarkable form in domestic cricket after his long struggle with injuries. Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is also doing exceptionally well in the domestic cricket. He has also been a consistent performer for RCB in the past, and most probably the team management will retain Chahal instead of the star aussie batsman Shane Watson, who has been struggling with his form lately.

Player RCB may retain or buy back: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav, Mitchell Starc and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Two times IPL champion KKR may not make a lot of changes this time as they finally have a stable team. KKR was criticised for making too many changes in the squad. But, they now have a quite stable team from last couple of seasons and the management maybe quite satisfied with the current line-up. There’s no doubt that Gautam Gambhir will remain the captain of the side, keeping in mind his incredible form in Ranji trophy this season. Sunil Narine is another name whose retention is pretty much sure. Over the years he has been a useful asset for the team contributing with both ball and bat . After these two it gets really tuff to pick three more names out of such brilliant team line-up. But, going by the current form Indian pacer Umesh Yadav, left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav and Chris Lynn can be retained by the team management.

Players KKR may retain or buy back: Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Keldeep Yadav and Chris Lynn.

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils had a pretty good season in 2017, they won’t think about making too many changes. They have the veteran Indian pacer Zaheer Khan leading the team and the bowling line-up, followed by Chris Morris and Imran Tahir, which makes one of the most lethal bowling attacks in IPL and the team management may like to retain the trio for the upcoming season as well. In the long list of batsmen DD may retain only Sanju Samson considering his form in previous IPL seasons and current domestic season. Other than that Rishabh Pant may be retained as well, keeping in mind his priceless contribution to the team with bat. DD has many other young batsmen whom the team management may buy back like Shreyas Iyer and Mayank Agarwal.

Players DD may retain or buy back: Zaheer Khan, Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant.

Kings XI Punjab

IPL 10 wasn’t a very successful season of for KXIP. They eliminated early in the tournament. Though, David Miller was appreciated for his power packed batting throughout the tournament and the team management would like to retain their star performer. Murali Vijay, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel may be retained due to their immense contribution to the team in the earlier seasons. KXIP may buy back some other key players like Mitchell Johnson, Mannan Vohra and Mohit Sharma

Players KXIP may retain or buy back: David Miller, Shaun Marsh, Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

IPL 9 champions have kept a very stable team with very few changes. A comparatively newer entry in the tournament have performed extraordinarily well in the past seasons. With Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner firing right from the early overs, followed by the champion batsman Yuvraj Singh. When it comes to bowling, Kiwi pacer Trent Boult and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also in great form. Team management may not release any of these players for the 2018 open auction.

Players SRH may retain or buy back: David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Yujraj Singh, Trent Boult and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Rajasthan Royals

RR would like to make a good comeback in the tournament and for that they may retain their key players from 2015 squad such as the right-handed Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who has been a consistent support for the team’s batting line-up. When it comes to bowling Aussie all-rounder James Faulkner has definitely left in IPL, proving his worth both with bat and ball. Another player who have very high probability of getting retained by the owners is the Aussie skipper Steven Smith, who is one of the best batsmen across the globe right now. Other than that, right-arm pacers Rajat Bhatia and Dhawal Kulkarni can also be retained by the team management, due to his extensive contribution to the team.

Players RR may retain or buy back: Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, James Faulkner, Rajat Bhatia and Dhawal Kulkarni

Chennai Super Kings

Probably the most awaited comeback of any team in IPL, CSK is coming back in IPL 2018 and the fans may see most of their favourite CSK players together again. CSK can retain their 2015 players and it’s not really a mammoth task to regroup the old squad, as most of the key players are available. CSK has always been a very consistent team with least changes in the squad, compared to any other team in the tournament. Going by the previous records MS Dhoni will be crowned as the captain of the team. Behind him, could be a very lethal squad including left-handed Indian batsman Suresh Raina, former Kiwi batsman and wicket-keeper Brandon McCullum, followed by another magnificent player Faf du Plessis and MSD’s trump card R Ashwin. CSK may buy back their other important players like Ravindra Jadeja and DJ Bravo

Players CSK may retain or buy back: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Brandon McCullum, Faf du Plessis, R Ashwin