Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni set to be retained by respective franchises for IPL 2018

The dawn of new year, 2018 will witness a new decade of Indian Premier League (IPL), as the 11th season promises to be bigger than ever. With the auctions for the upcoming edition just around the corner, teams have started making strategies to finalize the players they would want to retain. Before the bidding process begins the final retention list of players is to be announced by the franchises.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday, January 4 will host the retention event in Bangalore whereas the auction is slated to be held on January 27 & 28. India skipper Virat Kohli and his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni are among the top players who are set to be retained by their respective IPL franchises, Royal Challengers Bangalore and comeback outfit Chennai Super Kings respectively.

Kohli is yet to taste a title triumph as captain in the IPL in spite of his extremely successful run as national captain. On the other hand, 2007 and 2011 World Cup-winning skipper MS Dhoni has won the coveted title twice.

CSK and RR can retain players who donned the franchise outfit before suspension

Among other top Indians who are almost certain to be retained are Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai Indians to their title triumph last season, exciting MI all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, who are set to go back to CSK after playing for Gujarat Lions over the last two seasons, and Australian batting dynamo David Warner for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Another franchise making a return after serving a two-year suspension, Rajasthan Royals is expected to retain Australia captain Steve Smith, considering the form he has been in.

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 Rising Pune Supergiant and GL squads in IPL 2017, as per the norms.

Each team can opt for up to five players by virtue of a combination of Player Retention (Pre Player Auction) and Right to Match (RTM) (during the Player Auction), according to the decision of the IPL GC at its meeting in New Delhi on December 6.

All you need to know about the IPL 2018 player retention, and other news updates on CricTracker.com.