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.
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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 6th 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.
