Before the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2018)</a>, the franchises were given an option of retaining five players. However, there were some terms and conditions that the IPL Governing Council imposed for the retentions. The teams could keep five players back with them, but in a 3:2 or a 2:3 ratio of &#8216;retentions&#8217; and &#8216;RTM&#8217;s&#8217;. A maximum of 3 Indian capped players or 2 overseas players/uncapped Indian players were allowed to be retained

There were various speculations about the players that would be retained by the franchises. However, all the rumors were cleared when the franchises exercised their RTM cards in the auction on 27th and 28th of January. Although most of the RTM&#8217;s used by the franchises were as expected, some of them were quite unexpected and took everyone by surprise.

Here is a look of some of the strangest RTM&#8217;s that the teams used:

1. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/twitter-reactions-rcb-trolled-using-rtm-card-pawan-negi/">Pawan Negi</a> | <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/rcb-royal-challengers-bangalore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royal Challengers Bangalore</a> | ₹1 Crore

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/05/Pawan-Negi.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-140692" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Pawan-Negi.jpg" alt="Pawan Negi of Royal Challengers Bangalore" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-140692" class="wp-caption-text">Pawan Negi of Royal Challengers Bangalore plays a shot. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

A few eyebrows were raised when RCB decided to use their RTM card for Pawan Negi. In the IPL, he only averages 17.65 with the bat. Also, he picked only 30 wickets in the 41 matches that he played so far. Negi had earlier impressed the Delhi Daredevils bosses who were scouting local talent at the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/syed-mushtaq-ali-trophy-2018-final-review-delhi-reign-supreme-yet-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy </a>Twenty20 competition and they signed him for ₹8 crores in 2016. However, due to a few weak performances, the Daredevils had to let him off. Later on, he was brought by the RCB in 2017.

Negi didn&#8217;t perform very well for the Challengers in the last season. He only managed to score 144 runs with the bat in the 12 matches that he played at an average of 18. He further picked 16 wickets in the season at an average of 12.13 and economy just over six. The 24-year-old left arm spinner also reduced his base price to Rs 50 lakhs this time. Although RCB had an option of buying him out, they chose not to and used their RTM for him. RCB also surprised everyone earlier when they retained Sarfraz Khan. It would be very interesting to see if Negi will be worth the RTM for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

2. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/able-competitive-makes-feel-nice-piyush-chawla/">Piyush Chawla</a> | Kolkata Knight Riders | ₹4.20 Crores

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Piyush-Chawla-KXIP-IPL.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-127524" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Piyush-Chawla-KXIP-IPL.jpg" alt="Piyush Chawla KXIP" width="600" height="414" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-127524" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: BCCI)</figcaption>

Piyush Chawla first came to the fore when he got past the defense of Sachin Tendulkar with a googly in a Challenger Series match several years ago. A lower-order batsman, Chawla scores handy runs consistently. His best performance with the bat came when he hit the winning runs in 2014 final. Kolkata Knight Riders roped him in for ₹4.25 crores in 2014. But in the recent times, he wasn&#8217;t in the best of forms. It was a shocker to see KKR use their RTM card for Piyush Chawla. Chawla also shifted bases from UP to Gujarat this Ranji season and had a decent outing.

In 2017, he mostly warmed the bench for KKR. He featured only in six matches and picked up six wickets. Witnessing this, many expected him not to feature in KKR squad in 2018. At the auction, the Chennai Super Kings team bid aggressively for him and looked certain to have him on their team. But the Kolkata Knight Riders had other plans. Although he is a good pick in the team, the fact that KKR used their RTM for him ahead of the likes of Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, and Suryakumar Yadav didn&#8217;t go down too well with many. He went on earn ₹4.20 crore which is just over 4 times his base price.

3. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/mohit-sharma-is-fit-and-ready-to-perform-in-the-buchi-babu-tournament/">Mohit Sharma</a> | Kings XI Punjab | ₹2.40 Crores

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Mohit-Sharma.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-145196" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mohit-Sharma.jpg" alt="Mohit Sharma of Kings XI Punjab" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-145196" class="wp-caption-text">Kings XI Punjab. (Photo: Twitter)</figcaption>

Mohit Sharma made some rapid strides early in his career. Some exceptional performances in the 2012-13 season earned him a contract with CSK. He has a good slower ball and was Dhoni&#8217;s trusted scout back then. He soon made into the national team and also went on to represent CSK till 2015. But CSK suspended in 2015 meant that he was back in the auction. In 2016, he was brought by the Kings XI Punjab for ₹6.5 crores. He is someone who likes to keep things simple and focuses on the basics of lines and lengths.

However, he isn&#8217;t in great form with the ball and also recently cited hair loss the reason for his bad form. In the 14 matches he played last year, he picked up only 13 wickets at an average of 25.01. Many expected Kings XI Punjab to use their third RTM card for Sandeep Sharma. Sandeep was very good for KXIP and bowled exceedingly well in the powerplay overs. However, surprising one and all, KXIP chose to exercise their &#8216;Right-to-Match&#8217; card for Mohit Sharma and puzzled everyone with their choice. They bought him for ₹2.40 crores.

4. Deepak Hooda | Sunrisers Hyderabad | ₹3.60 Crores

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2015/06/Deepak-Hooda.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69607" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Deepak-Hooda.jpg" alt="Deepak Hooda" width="600" height="401" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69607" class="wp-caption-text">Deepak Hooda. (Photo Source: BCCI)</figcaption>

Deepak Hooda made his <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Premier League</a> debut with the Rajasthan Royals. The off-spinner and middle-order batsman plays his domestic cricket for Baroda. Deepak Hooda did exceptionally well for the Rajasthan Royals before the team was suspended. He provided them with some crucial knocks towards the end of the innings at a staggering strike rate. This had seen the SRH team show some keen interest in Hooda back in 2016. However, Hooda hasn&#8217;t been able to replicate the same kind of success for the SRH.

Hooda established a reputation of being a powerful striker of the cricket ball but had some modest outing with the Hyderabad franchise. He didn&#8217;t have great outings in the last two seasons and had managed to score only 78 runs in the 10 matches he played with the highest score of 19. Many expected SRH to use their RTM for Vijay Shankar or the &#8216;Fizz&#8217;. Vijay Shankar who replaced Hooda in the later stages of the tournament looked very impressive. But miraculously, SRH management decided to use their RTM for him.

5. Mohammed Shami | Delhi Daredevils | ₹3 Crores

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/05/Mohammed-Shami.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-141238" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mohammed-Shami.jpg" alt="Mohammed Shami of Delhi Daredevils" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-141238" class="wp-caption-text">Mohammed Shami of Delhi Daredevils celebrates fall of David Warner&#8217;s wicket. (Photo: Twitter)</figcaption>

Mohammed Shami’s ability to swing the ball and accuracy made him a vital cog in the Indian lineup since his debut in 2013. He became the first Indian to bowl four or more maiden overs on debut. However, Shami is not considered to be a top contender in T20 cricket. He picked a mere 18 wickets in the 31 matches that he played in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPL</a> so far. His economy is close to 9 which is very high for T20 standards. His average is a massive 51.89 and it is very surprising to see an RTM card used for him.

He was picked by the Delhi Daredevils in 2015. But he didn&#8217;t get to play even a single game due to an injury. He featured in only eight matches in both 2016 and 2017. He managed to pick only five wickets in each of these seasons. His average in 2017 was 31.20 and also had a very high economy rate of 9.34. DD had the choice to use RTM for Sanju Samson or a Karun Nair. But they chose to buy Shami using their RTM card which was highly unexpected. They also shelled out a massive ₹3 crore to buy him.

Before the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11th edition of the Indian Premier League&nbsp;(IPL 2018)</a>, the franchises were given an option of retaining five players. However, there were some terms and conditions that the IPL Governing Council imposed for the retentions. The teams could keep five players back with them, but in a 3:2 or a 2:3 ratio of ‘retentions’ and ‘RTM’s’. A maximum of 3 Indian capped players or 2 overseas players/uncapped Indian players were allowed to be retained
There were various speculations about the players that would be retained by the franchises. However, all the rumors were cleared when the franchises exercised their RTM cards in the auction on 27th and 28th of January. Although most of the RTM’s used by the franchises were as expected, some of them were quite unexpected and took everyone by surprise.
<h3>Here is a look of some of the strangest RTM’s that the teams used:</h3>
<h3>1.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/twitter-reactions-rcb-trolled-using-rtm-card-pawan-negi/">Pawan Negi</a> | <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/rcb-royal-challengers-bangalore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royal Challengers Bangalore</a> | ₹1 Crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_140692" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-140692" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/05/Pawan-Negi.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-140692" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Pawan-Negi.jpg" alt="Pawan Negi of Royal Challengers Bangalore" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-140692" class="wp-caption-text">Pawan Negi of Royal Challengers Bangalore plays a shot. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption></figure>
A few eyebrows were raised when RCB decided to use their RTM card for Pawan Negi. In the IPL, he only averages 17.65 with the bat. Also, he picked only 30 wickets in the 41 matches that he played so far.&nbsp;Negi had earlier impressed the Delhi Daredevils bosses who were scouting local talent at the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/syed-mushtaq-ali-trophy-2018-final-review-delhi-reign-supreme-yet-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy </a>Twenty20 competition and they signed him for ₹8 crores in 2016. However, due to a few weak performances, the Daredevils had to let him off. Later on, he was brought by the RCB in 2017.
Negi didn’t perform very well for the Challengers in the last season. He only managed to score 144 runs with the bat in the 12 matches that he played at an average of 18. He further picked 16 wickets in the season at an average of 12.13 and economy just over six. The 24-year-old left arm spinner also reduced his base price to Rs 50 lakhs this time. Although RCB had an option of buying him out, they chose not to and used their RTM for him. RCB also surprised everyone earlier when they retained Sarfraz Khan. It would be very interesting to see if Negi will be worth the RTM for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

<h3>2.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/able-competitive-makes-feel-nice-piyush-chawla/">Piyush Chawla</a> | Kolkata Knight Riders | ₹4.20 Crores</h3>
<figure id="attachment_127524" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-127524" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Piyush-Chawla-KXIP-IPL.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-127524" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Piyush-Chawla-KXIP-IPL.jpg" alt="Piyush Chawla KXIP" width="600" height="414" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-127524" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Piyush Chawla first came to the fore when he got past the defense of Sachin Tendulkar with a googly in a Challenger Series match several years ago.&nbsp;A lower-order batsman, Chawla scores handy runs consistently. His best performance with the bat came when he hit the winning runs in 2014 final. Kolkata Knight Riders&nbsp;roped him in for ₹4.25 crores in 2014. But in the recent times, he wasn’t in the best of forms. It was a shocker to see KKR use their RTM card for Piyush Chawla. Chawla also shifted bases from UP to Gujarat this Ranji season and had a decent outing.
In 2017, he mostly warmed the bench for KKR. He featured only in six matches and picked up six wickets. Witnessing this, many expected him not to feature in KKR squad in 2018. At the auction, the Chennai Super Kings team bid aggressively for him and looked certain to have him on their team. But the Kolkata Knight Riders had other plans. Although he is a good pick in the team, the fact that KKR used their RTM for him ahead of the likes of Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, and Suryakumar Yadav didn’t go down too well with many. He went on earn ₹4.20 crore which is just over 4 times his base price.

<h3>3.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/mohit-sharma-is-fit-and-ready-to-perform-in-the-buchi-babu-tournament/">Mohit Sharma</a> | Kings XI Punjab | ₹2.40 Crores</h3>
<figure id="attachment_145196" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-145196" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Mohit-Sharma.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-145196" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mohit-Sharma.jpg" alt="Mohit Sharma of Kings XI Punjab" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-145196" class="wp-caption-text">Kings XI Punjab. (Photo: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Mohit Sharma made some rapid strides early in his career. Some exceptional performances in the 2012-13 season earned him a contract with CSK. He has a good slower ball and was Dhoni’s trusted scout back then. He soon made into the national team and also went on to represent CSK till 2015. But CSK suspended in 2015 meant that he was back in the auction. In 2016, he was brought by the Kings XI Punjab for ₹6.5 crores. He is someone who likes to keep things simple and focuses on the basics of lines and lengths.
However, he isn’t in great form with the ball and also recently cited hair loss the reason for his bad form. In the 14 matches he played last year, he picked up only 13 wickets at an average of 25.01. Many expected Kings XI Punjab to use their third RTM card for Sandeep Sharma. Sandeep was very good for KXIP and bowled exceedingly well in the powerplay overs. However, surprising one and all, KXIP chose to exercise their ‘Right-to-Match’ card for Mohit Sharma and puzzled everyone with their choice. They bought&nbsp;him for ₹2.40 crores.

<h3>4. Deepak Hooda | Sunrisers Hyderabad | ₹3.60 Crores</h3>
<figure id="attachment_69607" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69607" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2015/06/Deepak-Hooda.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-69607" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Deepak-Hooda.jpg" alt="Deepak Hooda" width="600" height="401" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69607" class="wp-caption-text">Deepak Hooda. (Photo Source: BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Deepak Hooda made his <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Premier League</a> debut with the Rajasthan Royals. The off-spinner and middle-order batsman plays his domestic cricket for Baroda. Deepak Hooda did exceptionally well for the Rajasthan Royals before the team was suspended. He provided them with some crucial knocks towards the end of the innings at a staggering strike rate.&nbsp;This had seen the SRH team show some keen interest in Hooda back in 2016.&nbsp;However, Hooda hasn’t been able to replicate the same kind of success for the SRH.
Hooda established a reputation of being a powerful striker of the cricket ball but had some modest outing with the Hyderabad franchise. He didn’t have great outings in the last two seasons and had managed to score only 78 runs in the 10 matches he played with the highest score of 19.&nbsp;Many expected SRH to use their RTM for Vijay Shankar or the ‘Fizz’. Vijay Shankar who replaced Hooda in the later stages of the tournament looked very impressive. But miraculously, SRH management decided to use their RTM for him.

<h3>5. Mohammed Shami | Delhi Daredevils | ₹3 Crores</h3>
<figure id="attachment_141238" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-141238" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/05/Mohammed-Shami.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-141238" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mohammed-Shami.jpg" alt="Mohammed Shami of Delhi Daredevils" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-141238" class="wp-caption-text">Mohammed Shami of Delhi Daredevils celebrates fall of David Warner’s wicket. (Photo: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Mohammed Shami’s ability to swing the ball and accuracy made him a vital cog in the Indian lineup since his debut in 2013.&nbsp;He became the first Indian to bowl four or more maiden overs on debut. However, Shami is not considered to be a top contender in T20 cricket. He picked a mere 18 wickets in the 31 matches that he played in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPL</a> so far. His economy is close to 9 which is very high for T20 standards. His average is a massive 51.89 and it is very surprising to see an RTM card used for him.
He was picked by the Delhi Daredevils in 2015. But he didn’t get to play even a single game due to an injury. He featured in only eight matches in both 2016 and 2017. He managed to pick only five wickets in each of these seasons. His average in 2017 was 31.20 and also had a very high economy rate of 9.34. DD had the choice to use RTM for Sanju Samson or a Karun Nair. But they chose to buy Shami using their RTM card which was highly unexpected. They also shelled out a massive ₹3 crore to buy him.

Before the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2018)</a>, the franchises were given an option of retaining five players. However, there were some terms and conditions that the IPL Governing Council imposed for the retentions. The teams could keep five players back with them, but in a 3:2 or a 2:3 ratio of &#8216;retentions&#8217; and &#8216;RTM&#8217;s&#8217;. A maximum of 3 Indian capped players or 2 overseas players/uncapped Indian players were allowed to be retained
There were various speculations about the players that would be retained by the franchises. However, all the rumors were cleared when the franchises exercised their RTM cards in the auction on 27th and 28th of January. Although most of the RTM&#8217;s used by the franchises were as expected, some of them were quite unexpected and took everyone by surprise.
<h3>Here is a look of some of the strangest RTM&#8217;s that the teams used:</h3>
<h3>1. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/twitter-reactions-rcb-trolled-using-rtm-card-pawan-negi/">Pawan Negi</a> | <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/rcb-royal-challengers-bangalore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royal Challengers Bangalore</a> | ₹1 Crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_140692" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-140692" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/05/Pawan-Negi.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-140692" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Pawan-Negi.jpg" alt="Pawan Negi of Royal Challengers Bangalore" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-140692" class="wp-caption-text">Pawan Negi of Royal Challengers Bangalore plays a shot. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption></figure>
A few eyebrows were raised when RCB decided to use their RTM card for Pawan Negi. In the IPL, he only averages 17.65 with the bat. Also, he picked only 30 wickets in the 41 matches that he played so far. Negi had earlier impressed the Delhi Daredevils bosses who were scouting local talent at the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/syed-mushtaq-ali-trophy-2018-final-review-delhi-reign-supreme-yet-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy </a>Twenty20 competition and they signed him for ₹8 crores in 2016. However, due to a few weak performances, the Daredevils had to let him off. Later on, he was brought by the RCB in 2017.
Negi didn&#8217;t perform very well for the Challengers in the last season. He only managed to score 144 runs with the bat in the 12 matches that he played at an average of 18. He further picked 16 wickets in the season at an average of 12.13 and economy just over six. The 24-year-old left arm spinner also reduced his base price to Rs 50 lakhs this time. Although RCB had an option of buying him out, they chose not to and used their RTM for him. RCB also surprised everyone earlier when they retained Sarfraz Khan. It would be very interesting to see if Negi will be worth the RTM for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

<h3>2. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/able-competitive-makes-feel-nice-piyush-chawla/">Piyush Chawla</a> | Kolkata Knight Riders | ₹4.20 Crores</h3>
<figure id="attachment_127524" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-127524" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Piyush-Chawla-KXIP-IPL.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-127524" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Piyush-Chawla-KXIP-IPL.jpg" alt="Piyush Chawla KXIP" width="600" height="414" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-127524" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Piyush Chawla first came to the fore when he got past the defense of Sachin Tendulkar with a googly in a Challenger Series match several years ago. A lower-order batsman, Chawla scores handy runs consistently. His best performance with the bat came when he hit the winning runs in 2014 final. Kolkata Knight Riders roped him in for ₹4.25 crores in 2014. But in the recent times, he wasn&#8217;t in the best of forms. It was a shocker to see KKR use their RTM card for Piyush Chawla. Chawla also shifted bases from UP to Gujarat this Ranji season and had a decent outing.
In 2017, he mostly warmed the bench for KKR. He featured only in six matches and picked up six wickets. Witnessing this, many expected him not to feature in KKR squad in 2018. At the auction, the Chennai Super Kings team bid aggressively for him and looked certain to have him on their team. But the Kolkata Knight Riders had other plans. Although he is a good pick in the team, the fact that KKR used their RTM for him ahead of the likes of Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, and Suryakumar Yadav didn&#8217;t go down too well with many. He went on earn ₹4.20 crore which is just over 4 times his base price.

<h3>3. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/mohit-sharma-is-fit-and-ready-to-perform-in-the-buchi-babu-tournament/">Mohit Sharma</a> | Kings XI Punjab | ₹2.40 Crores</h3>
<figure id="attachment_145196" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-145196" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Mohit-Sharma.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-145196" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mohit-Sharma.jpg" alt="Mohit Sharma of Kings XI Punjab" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-145196" class="wp-caption-text">Kings XI Punjab. (Photo: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Mohit Sharma made some rapid strides early in his career. Some exceptional performances in the 2012-13 season earned him a contract with CSK. He has a good slower ball and was Dhoni&#8217;s trusted scout back then. He soon made into the national team and also went on to represent CSK till 2015. But CSK suspended in 2015 meant that he was back in the auction. In 2016, he was brought by the Kings XI Punjab for ₹6.5 crores. He is someone who likes to keep things simple and focuses on the basics of lines and lengths.
However, he isn&#8217;t in great form with the ball and also recently cited hair loss the reason for his bad form. In the 14 matches he played last year, he picked up only 13 wickets at an average of 25.01. Many expected Kings XI Punjab to use their third RTM card for Sandeep Sharma. Sandeep was very good for KXIP and bowled exceedingly well in the powerplay overs. However, surprising one and all, KXIP chose to exercise their &#8216;Right-to-Match&#8217; card for Mohit Sharma and puzzled everyone with their choice. They bought him for ₹2.40 crores.

<h3>4. Deepak Hooda | Sunrisers Hyderabad | ₹3.60 Crores</h3>
<figure id="attachment_69607" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69607" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2015/06/Deepak-Hooda.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69607" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Deepak-Hooda.jpg" alt="Deepak Hooda" width="600" height="401" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69607" class="wp-caption-text">Deepak Hooda. (Photo Source: BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Deepak Hooda made his <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Premier League</a> debut with the Rajasthan Royals. The off-spinner and middle-order batsman plays his domestic cricket for Baroda. Deepak Hooda did exceptionally well for the Rajasthan Royals before the team was suspended. He provided them with some crucial knocks towards the end of the innings at a staggering strike rate. This had seen the SRH team show some keen interest in Hooda back in 2016. However, Hooda hasn&#8217;t been able to replicate the same kind of success for the SRH.
Hooda established a reputation of being a powerful striker of the cricket ball but had some modest outing with the Hyderabad franchise. He didn&#8217;t have great outings in the last two seasons and had managed to score only 78 runs in the 10 matches he played with the highest score of 19. Many expected SRH to use their RTM for Vijay Shankar or the &#8216;Fizz&#8217;. Vijay Shankar who replaced Hooda in the later stages of the tournament looked very impressive. But miraculously, SRH management decided to use their RTM for him.

<h3>5. Mohammed Shami | Delhi Daredevils | ₹3 Crores</h3>
<figure id="attachment_141238" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-141238" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/05/Mohammed-Shami.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-141238" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mohammed-Shami.jpg" alt="Mohammed Shami of Delhi Daredevils" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-141238" class="wp-caption-text">Mohammed Shami of Delhi Daredevils celebrates fall of David Warner&#8217;s wicket. (Photo: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Mohammed Shami’s ability to swing the ball and accuracy made him a vital cog in the Indian lineup since his debut in 2013. He became the first Indian to bowl four or more maiden overs on debut. However, Shami is not considered to be a top contender in T20 cricket. He picked a mere 18 wickets in the 31 matches that he played in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPL</a> so far. His economy is close to 9 which is very high for T20 standards. His average is a massive 51.89 and it is very surprising to see an RTM card used for him.
He was picked by the Delhi Daredevils in 2015. But he didn&#8217;t get to play even a single game due to an injury. He featured in only eight matches in both 2016 and 2017. He managed to pick only five wickets in each of these seasons. His average in 2017 was 31.20 and also had a very high economy rate of 9.34. DD had the choice to use RTM for Sanju Samson or a Karun Nair. But they chose to buy Shami using their RTM card which was highly unexpected. They also shelled out a massive ₹3 crore to buy him.

While most franchises had a strong use of their respective RTM cards, we take a look at a few shocking or questionable retentions

IPL 2018: Five questionable RTM's used by the franchises

Before the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2018), the franchises were given an option of retaining five players. However, there were some....