As many as 27 players - 19 Indians and eight overseas cricketers - were retained by the eight existing Indian Premier League (IPL) teams during the retentions on Tuesday. The biggest names in the league - the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, among others - were retained by their respective teams. There were a few surprises too, with a few other big names like Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Yuzvendra Chahal and Rashid Khan not being retained by their teams. Some of the players who have been released will be picked up by the two new franchises while the rest will go into the mega auction.
Kohli reacted to his retention with delight, writing on his Twitter account: "A special bond with this amazing team. The journey continues @RCBTweets."
Former India opener Aakash Chopra pointed out that Kohli and Dhoni had taken pay cuts to stay on with their teams. "Rohit, Pant and Jadeja are the highest paid Indian players in this #IPLretention Pay cuts for Kohli & Dhoni. Retained for 15 Cr. and 12 Cr. respectively..." he tweeted.
"Rashid, K L Rahul, Chahal & Warner might not make it to the auctions. #IPLretention," he wrote in another tweet, referring to the possibility of these players being picked up by the two new franchises.
"Uncapped player retention is ₹4 Cr. The same player in the auction can fetch a lot more...explains why Shahrukh Khan and a few others might have chosen to head for the auctions. #IPLretention," Chopra wrote in yet another tweet.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan expressed his joy at Abdul Samad and Umran Malik being retained by SunRisers Hyderabad. Pathan had groomed both players while working with the Jammu and Kashmir team.
"Kisi ki khubsoorat kahani ka ek chota sa hissa. #happiness #IPLretention," he tweeted. ("A small part of someone's beautiful story.")
Kolkata Knight Riders' managing director Venky Mysore said he wished the entire KKR roster could have been retained.
"We start our new journey with these four match winners! #SunilNarine @Russell12A @chakaravarthy29 & @venkyiyer58. Wish we could hv retained the entire #TeamKKR @KKRiders #IPLretention," he tweeted.
Pundit and commentator Harsha Bhogle tweeted about the factors that may have guided the teams' retentions.
"Retention would have been guided by match winning skills and their relative scarcity obviously, but also by long term value (Morgan, Karthik, Faf, Dhawan, Warner, Gayle), injury worry and availability (Archer, Stokes) and personal ambition (Rahul, Shreyas, Rashid)..." he tweeted.
For now, all eyes will be on the two new franchises and the players they decide to pick up.