Indian Premier League 2018: Players likely to be retained by each franchisee

The news that all IPL fans have been waiting for is finally here - the player retention and auction policy for IPL 2018.

After countless discussions and brooding over how many players each franchisee would be permitted to retain, we finally have an answer. Despite occasional rumours of an open auction on the cards, the IPL governing council has finally decided that five is the magic number of players that can be retained for IPL 2018. Teams like Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sun Risers Hyderabad would be pleased with this decision, while Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab would have been hoping for fewer retentions and more superstars in the auction.

The player retention could be either before the auction and/or right-to-match (RTM) cards during the auction, with not more than three of each being allowed.

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals fans will be happy to know that they will be able to retain or use RTM cards on players that were in their squads in the 2015 season and played for either RPS or GL in the subsequent seasons.

If you are really quiet and attentive, you could probably hear some whistling from Tamil Nadu as they rejoice with the prospect of having MSD, Raina, Bravo, Sir Jadeja and Brendon McCullum play in yellow again. RR fans, on the other hand, won't be too excited with only Smith, Rahane and Faulkner being worthy for retention.

Also, there are constraints on the five players that are allowed to be retained. A maximum number of 3 Capped Indian players, 2 Overseas players and 2 Uncapped Indian players can be retained. This cap is a big bummer to primarily Chennai Super Kings, who will have to let go of one of Dhoni, Raina, Jadeja and Ashwin.

A very interesting change is the dynamic pricing employed in salary purse cuts based on number of players retained. If a franchisee opts to retain 3 players their salary purse will be down by ?33 crore (15, 11 and 7 crores). If they opt to retain 2, their purse will be down by ?21 crore (12.5 and 8.5 crores). For just one retention, their purse would be down by ?12.5 crore. These deductions apply to only capped players. Every uncapped player retained would cost a reasonable 3 crore.

With these rules in mind, let's take a look at what each IPL franchisee is likely to do:

Mumbai Indians

Retain: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah

RTM: Krunal Pandya, Jos Buttler

Will Hardik Pandya stay at MI, or will he chose to be a part of the auctions?

Having won 3 out of the last 5 seasons, the defending champions are going to have a hard time picking out just 5 players from their squad of umpteen superstars.

The retention should be fairly straightforward for the Mumbai Indians. They might be the only team to go in to the auctions with three players retained, as no other team have three players who are worth a total of ?31 crores.

Captain and explosive batsman Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, who is arguably the best all-rounder India have at present, and death-overs specialist Jasprit Bumrah could walk right into any team, and would form a solid core with a batsman, an all-rounder and a bowler. There are, however, rumours floating around that Hardik Pandya would like to be part of the auctions.

Utilizing the RTM cards would be way trickier for the star-studded MI, with the likes of Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler available. However, with MI's yesteryear stars Pollard, Malinga, Bhajji, Parthiv Patel and Rayudu all above 30, my money is on MI using their RTM on the relatively younger, explosive wicket keeper-batsman Jos Buttler.

The other Pandya, Krunal, who was the man of the match in last year's final, was excellent last season with both bat and bal, and should be the other RTM pick owing to his uncapped tag.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Retain: Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers

RTM: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Yuzvendra Chahal

RCB should be reasonably happy with the option to retain 5 players. There is no doubt that Indian captain Virat Kohli and Mr. 360, AB de Villiers will be retained. It'll be interesting to see if RCB chose to retain Yuzvendra Chahal, or opt to use the RTM card on him. It'll mostly be the latter owing to the fact that they'll have to shell out ?12 crore in order to retain him.

Young KL Rahul missed the whole of last season injured. However, he has been excellent for both RCB and team India, and should get retained. There are two other excellent Indian capped players in the RCB camp - Kedar Jadhav and Pawan Negi.

However, owing to the cap on maximum number of Indian capped players that can be retained, it is unlikely that they will be retained over Yuzvendra Chahal and KL Rahul. Chris Gayle and Shane Watson are the other available options. Gayle has been one of the IPL's biggest icons and we wouldn't be surprised to see the big man back next season in IPL colours.

Delhi Daredevils

Retain: None

RTM: Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant

One for the future - Rishabh Pant

Delhi Daredevils were one of the few teams ready for open auctions. After a disappointing opening decade in the IPL, they'll be looking to turn over a new stone. With no player worth over 12 crores in their ranks, they are likely to not retain anyone before the auctions and head to the auctions with a loaded purse.

They have two stars of the future in their squad - Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. Both got their India caps recently, and thus, unfortunately for Delhi, won't be eligible for the ?3 crore retention. Both Iyer and Pant have the potential to be big superstars in the future, and it would be wise of DD to use their RTM cards on them.

Apart from these two future Indian superstars, there are two excellent South Africans who could be retained as well.

Quinton de Kock is a fantastic wicketkeeper and an outstanding opener, and has been consistent at the top for, as Danny Morrison likes to call them, the 'Double Dees'. Chris Morris was instrumental in the Delhi Daredevils' team last season both with bat and ball, and is very likely to be RTM-ed, or even retained.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Retain: David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

RTM: Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Rashid Khan

David Warner has taken IPL by storm

The 2016 champions have a well balanced squad, and will try to use the retention policy to maintain their solid core. Their two openers, David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan, are among the best opening pairs in IPL history and the former is surely going to be retained. Warner has now won two orange caps in the last 3 seasons, and was runner-up to King Kohli in the third. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has won the purple cap for two seasons in a row now, and has been almost unplayable at the death. He is sure to be retained too.

It'll be interesting to see whether Dhawan is retained before the auctions. Hyderabad would have to splurge a hefty ?12 crore in order to retain him. However, they could take the gamble of putting him into the auctions and using the RTM card on him, as he will most likely be sold for a lower price.

Yuvraj Singh would make a good player to use the RTM on too. However, he may go for an exorbitant price (as has been the trend), and SRH may then choose not to use their RTM card on him. Rashid Khan was a revelation last season, and the mystery spinner should ideally get the nod.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Retain: Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Narine

RTM: Manish Pandey, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa

Gautam Gambhir will be looking to captain KKR to their third title

Kolkata Knight Riders are rumoured to have said that they would be fine with just one retention as well. After all, all they need is captain Gambhir!

Sunil Narine (who is now an all rounder - who would have thought!) has been in KKR colours for quite some time now, and has been instrumental in their success. It would make sense for KKR to retain him.

Explosive opener Chris Lynn, consistent middle-order batsman Manish Pandey and reliable wicketkeeper-batsman Robin Uthappa could see the RTM cards being used on them, though KKR do have some other interesting options in Kuldeep Yadav, Chris Woakes, Yusuf Pathan, Nathan Counter-nile, and Trent Boult to consider.

Chennai Super Kings

Retain: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo

RTM: Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum

Guess who's back? M.S.D

They're back! IPL's most decorated team is back after a 2 year hiatus. With the option of being able to retain up to 5 players, the Super Kings would be delighted to bring their regulars back in yellow jerseys.

'Captain cool' MSD, 'Sir' Ravindra Jadeja and 'Champion' DJ Bravo are likely to be retained to form a strong core consisting of a captain wicket keeper batsman, and two all rounders.

IPL's most consistent batsman Suresh Raina could be retained ahead of Bravo or Jadeja, but could possibly be put into the auctions as well. This could be because his recent poor form might see him being sold at a lower price.

Ravichandran Ashwin would have been the obvious fifth choice, but owing to the cap on maximum Indian capped players that can be selected, Brendon McCullum could be the fifth and final player to be retained.

Rajasthan Royals

Retain: Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane

RTM: James Faulkner

Having captained Pune to the final of IPL 2017, he will look to captain Rajasthan to the title in IPL 2018

Captain Steve Smith almost won Pune the title last season with some inspired captaincy and batting. Ajinkya Rahane has been as consistent as it gets in the IPL, even though he had a average season in 2017. These two would in all likelihood be retained.

James Faulkner has been one of the better allrounders in recent IPL history, and at a reasonable price, is bound to be shown the RTM card at the auctions. RR do not have too many other options and would be looking to save some money to splurge on some big players (read: Ben Stokes!)

Kings XI Punjab

Retain: None.

RTM: Glenn Maxwell, Axar Patel, Sandeep Sharma

Will Maxwell be given the KXIP armband again?

Much like the Delhi Daredevils, the Kings XI Punjab haven't had a great run in the IPL and would be looking to start afresh. There's a good chance that they opt not to retain any player. If at all they do chose to retain somebody, it is likely to be the 'Big Show', Glenn Maxwell. He has been the face of the Kings XI for quite some time now. Axar Patel is among the few exceptional players the KXIP have unearthed in the recent past. Both Maxwell and Axar are valuable all rounders, one being an explosive batsman and the other a shrewd bowler. However, ?21 crores might be a bit too steep for their services, and Kings XI Punjab might decide to put them in the auctions and then use their RTM cards on them.

Sandeep Sharma has troubled most openers with his phenomenal swing bowling. KXIP would love to use their RTM card on him. There are a couple of other explosive batsman who Punjab could be looking to hold on to. One of them, David Miller can be as explosive as anyone on his day. No Royal Challengers Bangalore or Kings XI Punjab fan would forget Miller's unbelievable century in one of IPL's greatest ever run chases. He won't attract unreasonable bids owing to his poor form, and could see the RTM card used on him by the team he once captained, Punjab. Manan Vohra has been around in the Kings XI ranks for quite some time now. He would open with Sehwag at one point, and was more explosive than Viru himself! Punjab could be looking to use the RTM card on him as well.