The IPL 2022 retention list will be announced tonight and according to reports, there are several surprises in store before the announcement is made official.
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The IPL franchises are all set to announce the retention of some key players for the 2022 edition of the tournament. The announcements will be made official tonight. There are some surprises in store but some announcements are straightforward. There is a bit of suspense over who Sunrisers Hyderabad is going to retain ahead of the mega-auction. While other teams like Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Kolkata Knight Riders are all but certain, there is suspense over some other teams.
Before the announcement, here is a brief explainer on how the IPL 2022 player retentions are going to work and what we know of the status of the franchises so far.
The cut-off date for the player retention list, dictated by the BCCI, was November 30. The list will be submitted to the BCCI before the announcements are made.
The new teams have not yet been announced. However, after November 30, we will come to know what is the status of the two new teams, which includes the names. Lucknow and Ahmedabad will mostly be the two new teams this time around. For them, the cut-off date for finalizing the players is between December 1 to December 25.
Every franchise has a budget of 90 crores allotted to them. If they retain four players, then Rs 42 crores will be deducted. In case three players are retained, then Rs 33 crore will be deducted. The numbers reduce even more in the remaining players. If the franchise retains two players, then Rs 24 crore will be deducted. For only one player is retained, Rs 14 crore will be deducted. If an uncapped player is picked, then his base price is Rs 4 crore.
The eight existing franchises can retain upto four players. The composition should be no more than three Indian players and not more than two foreign players. Thus, the composition can be two Indians and two foreigners at max. There cannot be four Indian retentions and three foreign retentions.
For the moment, Chennai Super Kings have the most straightforward retentions ahead of 2022. The four-time IPL champions will be keen to retain MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, and potentially Ruturaj Gaikwad. Among the foreigners, either Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, or Moeen Ali could be retained. Dwayne Bravo has retired from all forms of cricket and that could open up a vacancy.
Punjab Kings will be without KL Rahul, as the Karnataka player had already indicated his withdrawal from the franchise after the end of IPL 2021. Without Rahul, the chances of Punjab Kings retaining any player appear bleak. They may want to have a clean sheet. But, looking at the way how Mohammad Shahrukh Khan performed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali, he seems to be the only certainty to be retained.
The situation with Sunrisers Hyderabad is complicated. The franchise has indicated that only Kane Williamson might be retained. Does that mean Rashid Khan, one of the best bowlers in T20 cricket, is not retained? Rashid is reportedly bargaining with Sunrisers Hyderabad for a better deal.
There seems to be a certain level of confusion regarding Mumbai Indians. Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are certain. The status of one Indian and one foreigner is a mystery. They may want to retain Kieron Pollard but either of Hardik Pandya or Ishan Kishan might have to go out. Hardik was in the news that he might not be retained by Mumbai Indians as his returns with the bat have diminished.
With Virat Kohli now stepping down as captain and with AB de Villiers retiring, Royal Challengers Bangalore head into plenty of uncertainty in the new season. Kohli will be retained but who will be the other four players is a big question. There is a certainty that Glenn Maxwell might be the foreign player. Yuzvendra Chahal and Devdutt Padikkal are the others. Mohammed Siraj might step up along with 2021 purple cap winner Harshal Patel. If one looks at it, this is the way Royal Challengers Bangalore might want to operate but the franchise has been known to spring some surprises.
Apart from Rishabh Pant who is a certainty, Delhi Capitals might retain Kagiso Rabada as their pace ace. The status of the other players is unknown. Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, and Prithvi Shaw are the other players along with R Ashwin and Axar Patel. Avesh Khan was also impressed in the 2021 tournament. Delhi Capitals have a problem of plenty and it will be interesting to see how they go about the retention process.
Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Varun Chakravarthy all seem certain along with Shubman Gill. Perhaps, Kolkata Knight Riders might not want to purge their ranks too deeply.
Sanju Samson, in all certainty, might captain Rajasthan Royals even in 2022. Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal might also be retained. But, what about Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes? The duo missed IPL 2021 due to injuries. With Stokes and Archer’s history of injuries, one of them might have to face the exit.
