The much awaited retention rules for the 2022 season has been released before the mega auction takes place.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the existing teams have been allowed to retain four of their current team . The teams can keep three Indian players and one foreign player or include two Indian and two overseas players. There is no restriction on the players being capped or uncapped. The player has the option to accept or reject the retention offer from the team.
After the retention of players by the existing teams, the two new teams will get the option to pick three players from the remaining player pool before the mega auction.
Now, let us put on the thinking cap to see the players that the existing teams would like to retain. The teams will look to retain their multi-skilled players and the superstars, the franchise’s identity.
Chennai Super Kings
By applying the above-said filter, Chennai will retain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali are brilliant all-around cricketers who provide depth to the CSK team. Ruturaj has been a revelation with the bat in the two seasons that he has played for Chennai. The team will like to retain a solid opening batter for the 2022 season. CSK will try to convince MS Dhoni to stay on and be the captain. However, If MS Dhoni decides to retire from IPL, Chennai will retain Faf Du Plessis and become the team captain.
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai will look to retain Rohit Sharma, Keiron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, and Surya Kumar Yadav. The reasons for maintaining these players are pretty obvious. Rohit is a five-time IPL winning captain and prolific batsman. Bumrah and Surya are their match-winning bowler and batsman, respectively. Pollard, with his all-around skills, is a valuable player for any T20 team.
Delhi Capitals
Delhi will retain Rishabh Pant, Anrich Nortje or Kagiso Rabada, Marcus Stoinis, and Shreyas Iyer.
Pant is a complete package for Delhi. He will captain, keep wickets, and score runs. Marcus Stoinis is their genuine all-rounder, and his retention will be another no-brainer for Delhi. The opening bowling attack of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje has been brilliant throughout the 2021 season. As teams are allowed to retain only two foreign players, Delhi will keep one of them.
Despite his injuries and ordinary recent form, Shreyas Iyer has been a successful batsman in IPL, and Delhi might be tempted to retain him for a top-order position.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata will look to retain Eoin Morgan for his captaincy and hope to come back to good batting form. They will also keep Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Tripathi, who has been their mainstays. They could be tempted to retain Venkatesh Iyer after his magical performance in UAE. However, I guess they will stick to the tried and tested.
Punjab Kings
Punjab’s 2021 team is one that the owners will want to tear apart and rebuild. However, they will want to retain KL Rahul and Ravi Bishnoi for their exceptional batting and bowling skills. They have a talented set of players like Aiden Markram, Mayank Agrawal, Chris Jordan, and Arshdeep Singh in their current team. However, I think they will take their chances to dip into the broader pool for better options.
