The highly anticipated moment is here as Chennai Super Kings have announced their list of retained players for the mega auctions of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). A lot of buzz was going on regarding the future of veteran wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni. He has been retained by CSK for Rs 4 crore as the uncapped player. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja were both retained for Rs 18 cr each, while Shivam Dube and Matheesha Pathirana were also kept hold of by the five-time champions.
New Zealand batters Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra have not been retained by CSK. Moeen Ali, who was retained by the franchise in 2021, has also been let go.
Ahead of the auction, a major talking point was whether Ruturaj Gaikwad or Ravindra Jadeja would get the higher retention fee. As it turns out, CSK opted to go with equal pay for both stars, retaining both for Rs 18 cr.
Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana is Chennai Super Kings' next retention, having been kept for Rs 13 cr, Rs 1 cr less than the pre-designed second slab of Rs 14 cr. Shivam Dube, on the other hand, has been kept at Rs 12 cr, Rs 1 cr more than the pre-designed slab of Rs 11 cr.
Last, but certainly not the least, the retentions put an end to any doubts regarding legendary captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future. Dhoni earlier subtly hinted that he wished to play for a few more years, and has been retained as an 'uncapped' player by CSK.
This was possible as the IPL Governing Council brought back the law that allowed players who have not played an international game for five or more years to be retained as uncapped players.
Other renowned names released by CSK are pacers Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande, spinner Maheesh Theekshana and uncapped sensation Sameer Rizvi. The men in yellow will head into the mega auction with one Right to Match (RTM) card.
PLAYERS RETAINED:
1. Ruturaj Gaikwad (Rs 18 cr)
2. Matheesha Pathirana (Rs 13 cr)
3. Shivam Dube (Rs 12 cr)
4. Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 18 cr)
5. MS Dhoni (Rs 4 cr - uncapped)
AUCTION BUDGET: Rs 55 cr
RTMs available: 1