On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released the complete list of players that have been retained ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auctions. A total of 27 players have been retained, which includes some obvious retentions like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Each franchise was allowed to retain up to four players, with a maximum of three Indians, two uncapped Indians and two overseas players.
Here’s the full list of players retained and the price they have been retained for.
Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni – 12 crore
MS Dhoni has been with CSK since the inaugural edition of the tournament and has led them to four titles. Although his form with the bat has waned in the last couple of years, Dhoni still remains on the list of most runs in IPL history. The former India captain has played 220 matches for CSK, from which he has an average and strike rate of 39.55 and 135.85.
Ravindra Jadeja – 16 crore
The all-rounder was bought by CSK for Rs. 9.8 Crore in 2012, making him the most expensive player of that year’s auction. Jadeja has been with the ‘yellow army’ for the last 10 seasons, prior to which he was with Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Rajasthan Royals. In all, Jadeja has played 200 IPL games, from which he has an average and strike rate of 27.11 and 128.07. The bulk of the runs have come for CSK.
Moeen Ali – 8 crore
England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who scored a crucial unbeaten 37 off 20 in the 2021 IPL final, has been retained by CSK for Rs. 8 crores. The left-hand batter and offbreak bowler was bought by the MS Dhoni-led side for 7 crores at the IPL 2021 Player Auction. He scored 357 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 137.30, which saw him retained ahead of the next auctions.
Ruturaj Gaikwad – 6 crore
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s retention was quite an obvious one. The opening batter was IPL 2021’s highest run-scorer and played a big role in CSK winning their fourth title. Gaikwad was bought by CSK in the 2019 Player Auction, and has since then scored 839 runs at an average and strike rate of 46.61 and 132.12 respectively.
Delhi Capitals
Rishabh Pant – 16 crore
The wicketkeeper-batter, who scored 419 runs at an average of 34.91 in IPL 2021, has been retained by Delhi Capitals for a whopping Rs. 16 crore. Pant led the Delhi team last season because regular captain Shreyas Iyer was injured, and is likely to be at the helm of the team again. The swashbuckling batter was bought by the franchise for Rs 1.9 crore in 2016, and has been with them since. In all, he has an average and strike rate of 35.18 and 147.46 in the tournament.
Axar Patel – 12 crore
The spinner was signed up by the Delhi franchise for the 2018 season, and was retained ahead of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Axar, who has also played for the Punjab Kings, has 95 IPL wickets along with a batting average and strike rate of 17.32 and 125.22. He took 15 wickets last season at an economy rate of 6.65.
Prithvi Shaw – 8 crore
In January 2018, Shaw was bought by the Delhi team for Rs. 1.2 crores. He scored 22 of 10 on debut, and went on to become an integral part of the team. In 53 matches for the franchise, the big-hitting batter has a strike rate of 146.30. Last season, he scored 479 runs at an average and strike rate of 31.93 and 159.13, which led to him being retained for Rs. 8 crore.
Anrich Nortje – 6 crore
One of the fastest speedsters around, Nortje has been retained for Rs. 6 crores. After being released by KKR ahead of the 2020 auctions, he joined the Capitals as a replacement for Chris Woakes and picked 22 wickets that season. In all, the South African has 34 wickets in 24 IPL games.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Andre Russell – 12 crore
KKR’s most valuable player since 2014, Russell has become indispensable to the team. Although the all-rounder missed a large part of IPL 2021 due to an injury, he has been retained for Rs. 12 crore. Russell has a batting strike rate of 178.57 in the IPL and has also picked up 72 wickets (in 84 games).
Sunil Narine – 6 crore
Another trump card for KKR, Sunil Narine played an important role in both of KKR’s title wins in 2012 and 2014. The all-rounder has a batting strike rate of 161.69 while also picking up 143 wickets in 134 games.
Varun Chakravarthy – 8 crore
The slow bowler was released by Punjab Kings ahead of the 2020 season and joined the two-time champions KKR. Last season, he was his team’s highest wicket-taker. In 31 games, the leg-spinner has 36 wickets at an economy of 6.82.
Venkatesh Iyer – 8 crore
Most of the credit for KKR making it to the finals of IPL 2021 goes to Venkatesh Iyer, who played crucial roles in all the matches he played in the tournament’s second leg. In his first IPL season, the opener scored 370 runs at an average and strike rate of 41.11 and 128.47, which prompted the Shahrukh Khan co-owned franchise to retain him for Rs. 8 crore.
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma – 16 crore
The most successful captain in the IPL, Rohit Sharma has led Mumbai Indians to five titles besides being the tournament’s all-time third-highest run-scorer. It is thus no surprise that he has been retained for Rs. 16 crore.
Jasprit Bumrah – 12 crore
With his unorthodox bowling action, Jasprit Bumrah went on to become Mumbai Indians’ pace spearhead. Since his IPL debut in 2013, Bumrah has played 106 matches, picking up 130 wickets at an economy of 7.41.
Suryakumar Yadav – 8 crore
One of the most prolific middle order batters in the IPL, first for KKR and then for MI, Suryakumar Yadav has a batting average and strike rate of 28.90 and 135.71. Last season, he batted at a strike rate of 143.43.
Kieron Pollard – 6 crore
The Mumbai Indians veteran, one of the finest T20 players in the world, has been retained for Rs. 6 crore. The West Indian all-rounder has played 178 matches for Mumbai, from which he has a batting strike rate of 149.77. With the ball, he has taken 65 wickets.
Rajasthan Royals
Yashasvi Jaiswal – 4 crore
Uncapped Yashasvi Jaiswal has been retained for Rs. 4 crore after being bought by Rajasthan Royals in 2020 for Rs. 2.40 crore. In 13 matches, the opener has an average of 22.23 and strike rate of 136.32. Most of these runs came in IPL 2021.
Sanju Samson – 14 crore
The RR captain has been retained for Rs. 14 crore after being one of the standout batters last season where he scored 484 runs at an average and strike rate of 40.33 and 136.72. In 121 IPL matches, some of which came for his former team Delhi Capitals, the wicketkeeper batter has a batting average of 29.21 and strike rate of 134.20.
Jos Buttler – 10 crore
The England international joined RR in 2018, before which he represented MI. The flamboyant wicketkeeper batter has played several top-notch knocks for Rajasthan, and in all has a strike rate of 150 in 65 IPL matches. Buttler was unavailable for IPL 2021’s second leg earlier this year.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli – 15 crore
The former RCB captain has been retained for Rs. 15 crore, a decision that was a no-brainer. IPL’s highest run-scorer of all-time, Kohli will be keen to produce even better batting performances for RCB now that he is free of captaincy duties.
Glenn Maxwell – 11 crore
Last season, RCB spent 14.25 crore to buy Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who repaid the investment by being the team’s highest run-scorer with 513 runs. Those performances helped him get retained for Rs. 11 crore.
Mohammed Siraj – 7 crore
After playing one season for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017, the pacer joined RCB in 2018 for Rs. 2.20 crore and has since then retained his place in the team. Siraj has played 50 IPL matches, taking 50 wickets at an economy of 8.38.
Punjab Kings
Mayank Agarwal – 12 crore
Mayank Agarwal was Punjab Kings’ second-highest run-scorer last year with 441 runs at an average of 40.09 and strike rate of 140.44. With captain KL Rahul not retained after being caught up in a controversy, Agarwal became an obvious retention.
Arshdeep Singh – 4 crore
While Punjab’s campaign in IPL 2021 was one to forget, one of the few positives they took from it was the performance of uncapped Arshdeep Singh, who picked up 18 wickets in 12 games at an economy of 8.27. In all, the medium pacer has 30 wickets in 23 matches for Punjab.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Kane Williamson – 14 crore
Kane Williamson was signed up by the Sunrisers in 2015 and was named the captain in 2018. The New Zealander averages more than 40 in his 63-match IPL career, while his strike rate of 131.26 has also been impressive.
Abdul Samad – 4 crore
The big-hitting batter from Jammu Kashmir was signed by Sunrisers for Rs. 20 lakh for IPL 2020, and went on to become a regular in the XI in a short span of time. Samad, who loves hitting sixes, has a strike rate of 146.05 in 23 IPL matches.
Umran Malik – 4 crore
That pacer Umran Malik has played only three IPL matches but has found himself retained for Rs. 4 crore speaks volumes of his talent. After T Natarajan tested positive for Covid19 in IPL 2021’s second leg, Malik was given a place in the playing XI. While he played only three matches, from which he took two wickets, the youngster made a name for himself with his bowling speed. In only his second match, he bowled the fastest delivery by an Indian in the tournament’s history – 152.95kph.
Also read: Ahmedabad and Lucknow announced as the two new IPL teams
