18 players retained for IPL 2018; Gambhir, Shikhar, Harbhajan up for grabs

Ahead of the IPL 2018 auction slated for later this month, 18 players have been retained by the 18 franchises. 

Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan and Harbhajan Singh are among the players who are up for grabs in the upcoming auction.

Others in the auction pool include Krunal Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaun Marsh, Ben Stokes, Yuvraj Singh, and Kieron Pollard.

IPL 10 winner, Mumbai Indians have retained Captain Rohit Sharma, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah.



Australian batting great Ricky Ponting has been appointed as a coach of the Delhi Daredevils franchise for the upcoming Indian Premier League.


Delhi Daredevils have retained 3 players-- Chris Morris, Rishabh pant and Shreyas Iyer. While Sunrisers Hyderabad retained David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore have retained their captain Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Sarfaraz Khan. Rajasthan Royals, who came back to IPL fold after the 2-year ban, have retained Australia skipper Steve Smith.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which are back into action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after having faced a two-year ban, have retained key player MS Dhoni for the 11th edition of the league.

Dhoni was the first player to be retained for CSK, followed by Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja.

Last year runner-up, Kolkata Knight Riders have retained Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. It came as a surprise as they released their captain Gautam Gambhir.

Kings XI Punjab has retained only Axar Patel, releasing Maxwell, Shaun Marsh.


After a successful stint as a coach for Mumbai Indians in IPL, now Ricky Ponting will be seen in Delhi Daredevils camp.
Australian batting great Ricky Ponting has been appointed as a coach of the Delhi Daredevils franchise for the upcoming Indian Premier League.

The announcement was made by Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua as he welcomed the three-time World Cup winner.

Ponting takes over the reins at DD from former India captain Rahul Dravid, who had stepped down after the previous season owing to BCCI's conflict-of-interest regulations.

Dravid chose to coach India A and India Under-19 teams over the IPL franchise.

Ricky Ponting has been appointed as head coach. We will have a new coach and a new team with the idea of having continuity. We have retained two youngsters and the whole team will be built around them. Chris Morris is a top all rounder," Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua said.

The 43-year-old has earlier coached Mumbai Indians for two seasons in 2015 (when they won the title) and 2016.

Following are the players retained by each franchise using the Player Retention option.

Mumbai Indians

Players retained: Rohit Sharma (Rs 150 million), Hardik Pandya (Rs 110 million), Jasprit Bumrah (Rs 70 million)
Deduction from salary cap: Rs 330 million
Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 470 million
Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Players retained: Virat Kohli (Rs 170 million), AB de Villiers (Rs 110 million), Sarfaraz Khan (Rs 17.5 million)
Deduction from salary cap: Rs 310 million
Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 490 million
Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2

Kolkata Knight Riders

Players retained: Sunil Narine (Rs 85 million), Andre Russell (Rs 70 million)
Deduction from salary cap: Rs 210 million
Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 590 million
Right-to-match cards left at auction: 3

Delhi Daredevils

Players retained: Rishabh Pant (Rs 80 million), Chris Morris (Rs 71 million), Shreyas Iyer (Rs 70 million)
Deduction from salary cap: Rs 330 million
Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 470 million
Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2

Kings XI Punjab

Players retained: Axar Patel (Rs 67.5 million)
Deduction from salary cap: Rs 125 million
Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 675 million
Right-to-match cards left at auction: 3

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Players retained: David Warner (Rs 120 million), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Rs 85 million)
Deduction from salary cap: Rs 210 million
Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 590 million
Right-to-match cards left at auction: 3

Chennai Super Kings

Players retained: MS Dhoni (Rs 150 million), Suresh Raina (Rs 110 million), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 70 million)
Deduction from salary cap: Rs 330 million
Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 470 million
Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2

Rajasthan Royals

Players retained: Steven Smith (Rs 120 million)
Deduction from salary cap: Rs 125 million
Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 675 million
Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2

Player Retention Policy

An IPL Franchise is eligible to secure up to 5 players by virtue of a combination of Player Retention (Pre Player Auction) and Right to Match (RTM) (During the Player Auction).

A maximum of either 3 retention or 3 RTM at the discretion of the franchises

If there is no retention before player auction then franchises can have up to 3 RTM

Following will apply irrespective of player retention or RTM –

Maximum number of 3 Capped Indian players.

Maximum number of 2 Overseas players.

Maximum number of 2 Uncapped Indian players.

The player pool available for CSK and RR for retention/RTM will be the players’ who played for them respectively in IPL 2015 and who were part of RPS and GL squads in IPL 2017.