IPL Retention: CSK retains three players for 2018 season

The much awaited cut-off date for the franchises to announce their retained players for 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) finally arrived. Among all the 8 participating teams in the 2018 edition, the team that has taken the pre-tournament bragging rights is the Chennai Super Kings. CSK have been one of the most consistent sides in the IPL history.

The Super Kings have the distinction of being crowned as the champions twice in the history of the tournament. CSK had all the limelight on them as they had to announce their retained players. Having served their suspension of two years, the men in yellow had the pool of players who featured for them in 2015 edition to pick from.

There were quite a few eyeballs glued to the status of veteran Indian cricketer MS Dhoni. Dhoni has been the most successful captain in the history of the IPL and hence, he was certain to be the eye candy at the player retention. There were no surprises when his name was announced as one of the three players retained.

Chennai Super Kings retained the services of the former Indian cricketer. In all likelihood, CSK is set to appoint him as the captain of the team as well. In addition to Dhoni, the franchise opted to retain veteran middle-order batsman Suresh Raina.

Raina has the record of featuring for an IPL team for the most number of consecutive matches. He will be a key player for the yellows for sure. Lastly, the team had the tough choice to pick either of their two star spinners – Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin. Considering the precision and expertise of Jadeja in the shorter formats, CSK retained his services.

Budget and money shelled out

All teams had the budget of INR 80 crore ahead of the auctions. CSK retained MS Dhoni for INR 15 crore as their first choice retention. Meanwhile, Suresh Raina was retained for INR 11 crore. Lastly, the third retention of Ravindra Jadeja cost the Chennai Super Kings INR 7 crore. They have INR 47 crore left in their purse for the auctions. Also, they can use 2 Right to Match cards at the auctions now out of the three permissible ones.

Get more latest IPL news on Crictracker.