IPL Retentions: MSD returns to CSK and Virat Kohli becomes the costliest player in the tournament’s history

Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s biggest domestic T20 cricket league, will be rolling out its 11th edition this year. With Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) set to make a comeback this year, the teams were instructed to submit the list of their retained players before the player auction commences on January 27th and 28th.

All the eight teams that will compete at the tournament this year submitted their list of retained players on January 4th. Here’s the list.

Chennai Super Kings

MS Dhoni
Suresh Raina
Ravindra Jadeja

Delhi Daredevils

Shreyas Iyer
Rishabh Pant
Chris Morris

Kings XI Punjab

Axar Patel

Kolkata Knight Riders

Sunil Narine
Andre Russell

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma (c)
Hardik Pandya
Jasprit Bumrah

Rajasthan Royals

Steve Smith (c)

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli (c)
AB de Villiers

Sunrisers Hyderabad

David Warner (c)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Multiple cricketers from across the globe will be going under the hammer on January 27th and 28th before the full squads of the eight teams will be finalised.

Virat Kohli becomes the most expensive player in IPL history

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore for a record Rs 17 crore for IPL 2018. This makes him the most expensive player in the tournament’s history, surpassing the previous Rs 16 crore mark for Yuvraj Singh by Delhi Daredevils. Also, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni have been retained by their respective franchises for a whopping Rs 15 crore this year. Australians Steve Smith and David Warner too struck gold as they have been retained for Rs 12 crore each by their respective teams.