IPL Auction 2022: Will this be the last mega auction?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auction, which is likely to be held in January next year, could be the last mega auction.

Ahead of the mega auction, eight existing IPL franchises have been allowed to retain only four players from their current squad. The teams can retain players in two combinations - two Indian players and two overseas players or three Indians players and one overseas player.

According to a report in TOI, most stakeholders, including franchises, agree that the concept of a mega auction is redundant and are happy with the idea of the upcoming auction being the last mega auction.

The newspaper quoted a source as saying:

"We genuinely hope this is the last mega-auction because the trend has clearly gone past its sell-by date. This, in turn, will also put pressure on franchises to pick well at this mega-auction because they'll be building their future teams around these set of players.”

The deadline for the eight current franchises to announce their retention list ends on Tuesday, November 30. From December 1 to December 25, the two new franchises can pick three players ahead of the auction - two Indian cricketers and one overseas cricketer.

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Possible retention list ahead of IPL Auction 2022

Although there has been no official confirmation yet, media reports have been doing the rounds, revealing the retention list of franchises based on their sources.

According to ESPN Cricinfo, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are set to retain skipper MS Dhoni, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and England’s Moeen Ali as their overseas player.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) look set to announce Sunil Narine and Andre Russell as their two overseas purchases. The two Indian slots are likely to go to Varun Chakravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer

Further, Sunrisers Hyderabad are likely to retain only their captain Kane Williamson as they, apparently, haven’t been able to crack a deal with Rashid Khan. Delhi Capitals (DC) are said to have zeroed in on Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel and Anrich Nortje as their four picks.

On the other hand, TOI claimed that Mumbai Indians (MI), the most successful IPL franchise, have decided to retain captain Rohit Sharma, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan and Kieron Pollard.

As for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the report said that they have retained Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj but couldn’t reach an understanding with Yuzvendra Chahal.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) are keen to retain Mayank Agarwal, Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh. Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) choices could be Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Some reports have also been doing the rounds claiming KL Rahul could be the captain of the Lucknow franchise.