IPL 2018: MS Dhoni's CSK return in doubt as KKR, RR oppose players' retention policy
Mumbai: While the Indian Premier League 2018 players’ auction is still a few months away, the intense discussion regarding retention, auction and much more have kept the cricket fraternity buzzing; more so, after the IPL Governing Council’s meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Read: BCCI to introduce mid-season player transfers from Indian Premier League 2018?
Although IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said that the matter of player retention was one of the points of discussion in the meeting, he did not divulge any other details; saying the details will be finalised in a fortnight.
Read: IPL 2018: Retentions to continue but franchisees can't go against player's wishes
"The meeting went off well. The idea was to invite actual team owners and solicit their views now that 10 years have concluded. Lot of things like retention, salary cap, squad strength were discussed. Majority of the owners want player retention. I think we will be able to finalise the details in a fortnight," Shukla told PTI.
Read: Bye-bye Suresh Raina? CSK may retain MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Faf du Plessis for IPL 2018
However, it is now learnt that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), who are making a comeback to IPL after being suspended for two years following the spot-fixing saga, are not in favour of player retention.
Read: MS Dhoni puts up this cryptic Instagram post as Chennai Super Kings make IPL comeback
On the other hand, defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and two-time IPL winners Chennai Super Kings, who like RR are back in IPL, are favouring retention of players.
Read: Hardik Pandya to leave Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2018 auctions? Here’s what he said
After CSK and RR were suspended, some of the cricketers who played for these two teams were picked by the two new sides – Rising Pune Supergiant (RPSG) and Gujarat Lions (GL) – via players’ draft.
Read: 2 of the IPL team owners want players' auction to take place in England
It is understood that MI want to retain five or six players, CSK want to retain four while Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) want to retain three or more. Delhi Daredevils (DD) also reportedly wish to retain three players. Additionally, MI and CSK want respectively two and one Right to Match (RTM).
Read: Here's how MS Dhoni can make a Chennai Super Kings comeback in IPL
However, it is also reported that one of the IPL teams were not in favour of allowing CSK to retain players from the list of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo. MI meanwhile will like to retain a few players from the list of skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh.
