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The Indian Premier League will enjoy its 11th season in 2018, seeing the return of Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Superkings to the tournament.
After starting grading the franchises’ player retention yesterday, I will grade the final four franchises today.
Additionally, possible ‘right to match’ (RTM) choices by every franchise will be discussed.
(Right to match: if Player A, who represented Team B’ in the last season, is acquired by Team C, B can use their RTM card and get A back for the same amount that C paid for him.)
(NB: one Crore is around $AUD200,000)
Player retention performance: B
Players retained: Virat Kohli (17 Crore), AB de Villiers (11 Crore), Sarfaraz Khan (1.75 Crore)
Cost deducted: 31 Crore
Remaining purse: 49 Crore
RTM cards available: two (two capped Indians retainable, one uncapped Indians retainable, one overseas players retainable)
What came as one of the surprises of the retentions round, Royal Challengers Bangalore decided to keep Sarfaraz Khan for this campaign. This could prove a smart decision with RCB having two Crore more than every other franchise that retained three players.
RCB had a rich talent of players last term including Chris Gayle, Samuel Badree, Shane Watson and KL Rahul, however as they look to come out of auction with a different set of players, the Bangalore-based franchise is likely to end up using the RTM cards on:
Yuzvendra Chahal
While his omission from the retention list was one of the more surprising decisions, it seems certain that RCB will use an RTM card to retain the leggie’s services. His wicket-taking abilities have been crucial for the franchise.
Travis Head
One of the most explosive batsmen in Australia, Head is leading the Adelaide Strikers to their best BBL season so far, and could prove extremely important for the RCB middle order.
Virat Kohli (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Player retention performance: A-
Players retained: MS Dhoni (15 Crore), Suresh Raina (11 Crore), Ravindra Jadeja (7 Crore)
Cost deducted: 33 Crore
Remaining purse: 47 Crore
RTM cards available: two (zero capped Indians retainable, two uncapped Indians retainable, two overseas players retainable)
The Chennai franchise makes a comeback after a two-year absence, seeing fans rejoice at the prospect of a Super Kings-Mumbai Indians rivalry.
Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni is back to his adopted home and has got his two colonels, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, with him. The team will hope the misfiring Raina finds his touch again, as he was previously a dreaded middle-order batsman.
While CSK have number of talented players, including Brendon McCullum, Faf Du Plessis and Dwayne Smith on whom they can use the RTM card, the likeliest retentions using RTM card will be:
Dwayne Bravo
Considered by many as the best all-rounder in T20 cricket, Bravo has been immense for every team he has played for, scoring important knocks and taking wickets. Bravo can turn a game on its head and Chennai would love to regain him.
Andrew Tye
This Australian has been one of T20’s premier bowlers in recent years, having been priceless for the Perth Scorchers, where his economical bowling at the end has been critical.
Player retention performance: A
Players retained: David Warner (12 Crore), Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (8.5 Crore)
Cost deducted: 21 Crore
Remaining purse: 59 Crore
RTM cards available: three (two capped Indians retainable, two uncapped Indians retainable, one overseas players retainable)
In two of the smartest decisions, Sunrisers Hyderabad got back last IPL’s orange and purple cap holders for this tournament. The 2016 champions will be looking to get out of the auction with a team that can challenge for the trophy again.
Theirs is a rich talent pool, including Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Mustafizur Rehman and Kane Williamson, on whom they can use the RTM cards, however, the following seem to be the likeliest players:
Rashid Khan
The Afghanistan international was an integral part of SRH’s bowling unit in the last IPL and is now making a name for himself in the Big Bash, playing for Adelaide Strikers.
Shikhar Dhawan
Eyebrows were raised when he was not retained by SRH, but the franchise will look to use one of their RTM cards on this Indian international, who has formed a great partnership with David Warner at the top.
Deepak Hooda
This talented youngster, scoring at the strike rate of just under 145, is an asset in the lower-middle order. What makes Hooda a likely retention choice is that he will likely cost less than his much-fancied colleagues during the auctions.
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Player retention performance: A+
Players retained: Rohit Sharma (15 Crore), Hardik Pandya (11 Crore), Jasprit Bumrah (7 Crore)
Cost deducted: 33 Crore
Remaining purse: 47 Crore
RTM cards available: two (zero capped Indians retainable, two uncapped Indians retainable, two overseas players retainable)
The most successful team in IPL history, the Indians have performed best in terms of player retention. They got back their captain and one of the best limited-overs batsmen in the world, India’s premier all-rounder, and one of the best T20 bowlers in the world.
Yet they still have plenty of choices on whom they can use their RTM cards.
MI have players like Jos Buttler, Lasith Malinga, Lendl Simmons and Mitchell Mcclenaghan to retain, but the likeliest choices for their RTM cards seem to be:
Krunal Pandya
This Pandya brother has been so important for Mumbai that some expected him to be retained instead of Bumrah. A fine fielder, Krunal can contribute with bat and ball, and won many accolades for his man of the match performance in the 2017 finals.
Kieron Pollard
Pollard has been a one-club player in the IPL, scoring over 2300 runs and taking 50 wickets to be a proven matchwinner. Able to change matches with his fielding, MI will want to keep him.
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