IPL 2022: 4 possible player retentions for each of eight franchises

The IPL 2022 will see a mega auction take place with two new teams involved.

The IPL 2022 will experience a renewed interest in the already uber-popular Indian Premier League tournament as it will feature two new teams based in Lucknow and Ahmedabad and this will mean a mega auction will take place with many of the star players possibly being sent back into the auction.

Though nothing has been officially confirmed by the BCCI, ESPNCricinfo recently reported that each of the eight current franchises will be allowed a maximum of four retentions which can be either two or three Indian players and two or one foreign players.

IPL 2022: Old teams to retain 4 players max; new teams to acquire 3 players before auction- Reports

There will not be any RTM cards in the auction, as per the report and the two new franchises will be allowed to buy three players before the auction begins in order to form a core of their teams.

Keeping this in mind that only four players might be allowed to retain, Team COC presents to you the possible four retentions of all the eight franchises.  

MUMBAI INDIANS (MI)

Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah

Rohit Sharma is the captain of the team and has won them their five IPL titles making MI the most successful franchise in the history of IPL thus far. He has been well assisted by Kieron Pollard, who made his IPL debut for MI in 2010 and has led the team as well in Rohit's absence.

Jasprit Bumrah is now the leader of the MI pace attack and along with Rohit and Pollard is almost confirmed to be retained. As for the fourth player, it might be a tossup between the versatile Suryakumar Yadav and explosive Ishan Kishan for the management to decide.   

IPL 2022: MI unlikely to retain Hardik Pandya; Shreyas Iyer set to leave Delhi Capitals- Report

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (CSK)

MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja and Ruturaj Gaikwad

CSK owner N Srinivasan has already confirmed that the first retention for the four-time IPL winners will be their captain MS Dhoni, who is the identity of the franchise since 2008. Their possible next retention could be the brilliant all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who had grown into a megastar in his own rights in the tournament.

Ruturaj Gaikwad gave the results CSK expected after investing in him in IPL 2020 and the first half of the IPL 2021. For the 4^th retention, CSK might go with Faf du Plessis over Sam Curran as Du Plessis can still give them 2-3 seasons of experience and may also take over as captain of the team from Dhoni.  

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE (RCB)

Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal and Glenn Maxwell

If Dhoni is the identity for CSK in IPL, Virat Kohli oozes the mentality of what RCB wants to project. Though Kohli might not captain the team in IPL 2022, he is still expected to be retained. Apart from him, Yuzvendra Chahal and Devdutt Padikkal are the most likely Indian players to keep their spots in the franchise.

For foreign retention, RCB will need to make the tough decision between AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell. But if logic and sense prevail Maxwell should pip De Villiers, who is 37 and doesn’t play much in any other leagues as well.  

DELHI CAPITALS (DC)

Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, and Akshar Patel

The Delhi Capitals have chosen to go ahead with Rishabh Pant as their team’s leader, as reports suggested that Shreyas Iyer will be moving on from the franchise in search of captaincy opportunities. Pant and opener Prithvi Shaw are expected to be the first-choice retentions for the DC unit.

England's Joe Root set to enter IPL 2022 mega auction: Report

Then they can go for the all-around skills of Akshar Patel and for the foreign player, DC might prefer Anrich Nortje over his more famous South African colleague Kagiso Rabada, given Nortje’s performance and consistency in the past two seasons.   

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS (KKR)

Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy

Kolkata Knight Riders will be riding the high of the finals finish in IPL 2021, but need to focus on their retentions keeping the next 2-3 years in mind. This means young Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer might be at the top of their list for retentions.

Varun Chakravarthy has become the center point of their bowling lineup and is expected to be retained as well. For the overseas slot, KKR might go with Sunil Narine over Andre Russell, despite the burly all-rounder’s skills, given his sketchy fitness record.

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD (SRH)

Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan and Abdul Samad

SRH had a terrible outing in IPL 2021 and most possibly have parted ways with David Warner, who confirmed that he’ll put his name in the IPL 2022 mega auction. This means SRH is most likely to retain Kane Williamson given his captaincy skills.

Rashid Khan is also an almost confirmed retention as SRH will not let their trump card go into the auction. The other two retentions might be the young Abdul Samad who has shown promise as a finisher and left-arm pacer T Natarajan over Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has struggled with fitness and form in the past two seasons.

David Warner confirms going into the IPL 2022 auction; says given recent events SRH won’t retain him

RAJASTHAN ROYALS (RR)

Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, and Yashasvi Jaiswal

Rajasthan Royals have had an indifferent performance in the past 3-4 IPL seasons and a major reason for them has been their over-dependence on foreign contingent. This also means that England stars Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler might be at the top of their retention list, along with possibly Jofra Archer as an option.

Sanju Samson’s captaincy debut in IPL 2021 was lukewarm, but as a homegrown star, he is expected to be retained. A youngster RR might want to invest in the left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal who has been impressive with his skills in IPL 2021.

BCCI expects Rs 5,000-crore windfall with addition of two new franchises in IPL 2022 - Report

PUNJAB KINGS (PBKS)

Mohammad Shami, Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, and Ravi Bishnoi

Punjab Kings might be the most inconsistent franchise when it comes to player selection as they rarely played with the same XI in 2-3 matches in a row. There have also been reports that KL Rahul might not be retained by the PBKS management as under his captaincy, they finished 6^th in both IPL 2020 and 2021.

However, they might want to retain pacer Mohammad Shami, their only shining light apart from Rahul in the last two IPLs. Opener Mayank Agarwal may also find himself playing for the red and gold unit in the next edition as well. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi should be retained given his impact and skills. For foreign retention, PBKS may go with Aiden Markram over Nicholas Pooran.