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While T20 lovers are looking forward to the resumption of the Indian Premier League ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is busy finalising all the details of the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022. All said and done, it will be an exciting time for fans but at the same time it will be anxious as several of their favourite players might just turn up for another team next season.
While earlier it was learned that a maximum of four players- either two overseas and two domestic players or three domestic and one overseas cricketer in the team- will be retained, it is now being reported that only 3 players could be retained by the franchises.
It is also being learned that the salaries of these three retained players will be deduced from their auction purses before heading into the auctions. The BCCI is also reportedly set to increase the purse from INR 85 crore to 90 crore with the addition of two new teams from next year. With all of this at the backdrop, here is a look at the possible players that Royal Challengers Bangalore could retain before going into the auctions.
The teams are likely to get an option of retaining just one overseas player and the players have been picked based on that consideration.
1. Virat Kohli
While captain Virat Kohli might have failed to achieve what he had hoped for over the years, he has contributed with the bat year after year having a record season in 2016 where he slammed four hundred and notched up close to 1000 runs. He has been consistent with his scoring and almost follows a fixed pattern in the manner in which he paces his innings. Given what he brings to the table purely as batter, it shouldn't be a problem for the owners to go for their first retention choice. As a leader too, Kohli has had his moments in the tournament and gauging by the way RCB was going about it in IPL 2021 before the season was interrupted, who knows perhaps this could be the year they win their first IPL.
2. AB de Villiers
It could be a tricky call for RCB owing to the age factor of the Protea batter AB de Villiers. But make no mistake there is no question about his form or fitness. He remains one of the fittest cricketers around and ever since he is keeping wickets for the team, they have got their balance right. However, adding him to the team would also mean no Glenn Maxwell in the retention, if they are given the option of just one overseas player. But purely on legacy, ABD deserves to be retained if there is just one spot up for grabs.
3. Yuzvendra Chahal
In modern-day limited-overs games, leg spinners are an essential entity to have in the team. Look no further than Yuzvendra Chahal as he is one of the finest spinners in India. While his form was a little up and down, he showed what he is capable of in the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka and should also be able to secure a place in the T20 World Cup squad for India. Moreover, he is like Kohli and de Villiers- a loyal and long servant of the franchise and has contributed to many of their famous wins.