Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni set to be retained ahead of IPL 2018

Ahead of the announcement of the player retention list, current and former India captains Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni look set to be retained by their respective IPL sides. Four-time IPL champion Rohit Sharma, India all-rounders Hardik Pandya (both Mumbai Indians) and Ravindra Jadeja are also expected to be shoo-ins for their sides.

Although Virat Kohli is yet to taste success in the IPL, he looks set to feature for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2018 while Dhoni will return back to Chennai Super Kings, who are coming back after a two-year suspension.

Also set to return are Indian stars, Rohit Sharma, who led MI to their IPL title in 2017 after beating Rising Pune Supergiant in the final, Hardik Pandya, who has been an integral part of both India and MI's success. Ravindra Jadeja, who was with the Gujarat Lions over the last two seasons is also set to return to CSK while Sunrisers Hyderabad will hold on to David Warner, who is the owner of the Orange Cap for the last two seasons.

Rajasthan Royals are also likely to retain Steve Smith while Kings XI Punjab have already confirmed that they will only retain one player.

All you need to know ahead of the player retention list

A maximum of five players can be retained by each team through a combination of player retention and Right to Match (RTM) cards as per the decision from the IPL Governing Council meeting in New Delhi last month.

The salary cap for the upcoming season has also been raised to Rs. 80 crore. If a team retains all three players, a total of Rs. 33 crore will be reduced from their total salary, if they retain two players they will be set back to a tune of Rs. 21 crore while retaining only one player before the auction will cost them Rs. 12.5 crore.

A team can use a maximum of three retentions or three RTMs. Among the players retained, there can be a maximum of three Indian internationals, two overseas players or two uncapped Indian players. With the cap at Rs. 80 crore for the upcoming season and increasing to 82 and 85 crore in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

They will have to use the Rs. 80 crore in order to settle on a minimum squad of 18 players (max 25 with 8 overseas players).