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

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!)