The 11th edition of the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian Premier League (IPL)</strong></a> is still four months away from commencement, but the excitement vibes are already spreading. All the teams announced the players they have decided to retain for IPL 2018 before the auction. There were some jaw-dropping calls made by the franchises. But a lot of aspects on the financial and managerial aspects were taken into consideration before arriving at the names.

The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-retention-mumbai-indians-retain-three-players-2018-season/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mumbai Indians</strong></a> will be entering the eleventh edition as the defending champions. They decided to go with Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah, leaving out some big names like Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya. Nevertheless, it&#8217;s a choice which cannot be debated as each team only gets to retain a maximum of 3 players.

The returning sides Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings made some obvious choices as well. Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina were retained by Chennai and Steve Smith was the one sole person who will continue with Rajasthan. Barring the obvious choices, there were some really surprising and debatable picks made by franchises. Here&#8217;s the list of five players, whose retention raised a lot of eyebrows.

1. Sarfaraz Khan (Royal Challengers Bangalore) &#8211; 1.75 crore

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2016/04/Sarfaraz-Khan.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-62490" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Sarfaraz-Khan.jpg" alt="Sarfaraz Khan" width="600" height="409" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-62490" class="wp-caption-text">Sarfaraz Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

No doubt, this lad is one of the most talented youngsters in the country. But no one pinned their hopes on Sarfaraz Khan to get retained. Royal Challengers Bangalore decided to place their bet on this young uncapped player for INR 1.75 crore.

This indeed is the biggest moment of the youngster&#8217;s career and each and every Indian would love to see him excel.  But one thing we can&#8217;t deny is his retention was surprising. He missed the 10 season after suffering a serious injury just before the tournament began, but he will be ready to go all guns blazing this time around.

2. Axar Patel (Kings XI Punjab) &#8211; 6.75 crore

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Axar-Patel.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-131277" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Axar-Patel.jpg" alt="Axar Patel IPL" width="602" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-131277" class="wp-caption-text">Axar Patel. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Kings XI Punjab have opted to leave their talismanic performers, Glenn Maxwell, Hashim Amla and even David Miller, only to stick with Axar Patel. The all-rounder from Gujarat has been performing well in the few chances he&#8217;s getting to play for India and that possibly earned him the retention.

But they could&#8217;ve picked him for something around Rs. 6.75 crore in the auction as well with an RTM given that his retention cost the team 12.5 crore since he was the only player that KXIP decided to hold onto for now. 

3. Rishabh Pant (Delhi Daredevils) &#8211; 8 crore

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Rishabh-Pant-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-139698" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Rishabh-Pant-1.jpg" alt="Rishabh Pant" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139698" class="wp-caption-text">Rishabh Pant. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

The southpaw from Delhi, Rishabh Pant has bagged a Rs. 8 crore deal with the team. And they picked him as the first player thus the team took a cut worth 15 crore from the salary purse to get him on board. Indeed a huge moment in his career and he will be overwhelmed with this.

But isn&#8217;t this deal too big for a player who hasn&#8217;t even play 5 International games? Well, many expected Delhi would retain him, but not for this amount. In his defence, he recently led Delhi into the finals of the Ranji Trophy and DD are probably looking at him to maintain the local connection for the team.

4. Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders) &#8211; 7 crore

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2016/04/Andre-Russell.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-62211" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Andre-Russell.jpg" alt="Andre Russell" width="600" height="416" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-62211" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

A huge call made by the KKR management to go with Andre Russell. After getting banned from playing the gentleman&#8217;s game, Russell has completely disappeared from the spotlight. It&#8217;s been long since anyone of us have seen him in action.

Will he get enough match practice before getting into the tournament, maybe not! But the management believes he can deliver and hence, they decided to pay him 7 crore whereas the impact of his retention on their overall purse was worth Rs. 8.5 crore.

5. Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) &#8211; 8.5 crore

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/05/Sunil-Narine.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-143254" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Narine.jpg" alt="Sunil Narine of Kolkata" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-143254" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Narine of Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Many might disagree with us for including Narine in this list, but it&#8217;s been long since he bamboozled batting lineups the way he did. Though he does command a place at the top of the order now as a pinch hitter, he is a jack of both the trades.

The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-retention-kolkata-knight-riders-retain-two-players-2018-season/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Kolkata Knight Riders</strong></a> management is ready to pay him Rs. 8.5 crore and took a cut worth 12.5 crore from their purse given he was the top player among the two retained. But as of now, a lot of KKR fans and experts are in disagreement with their decision to go for Narine over someone like Gautam Gambhir who also is the leader of the team.

<p>The 11th edition of the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian Premier League (IPL)</strong></a> is still four months away from commencement, but the excitement vibes are already spreading. All the teams announced the players they have decided to retain for IPL 2018 before the auction. There were some jaw-dropping calls made by the franchises. But a lot of aspects on the financial and managerial aspects were taken into consideration before arriving at the names.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-retention-mumbai-indians-retain-three-players-2018-season/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mumbai Indians</strong></a> will be entering the eleventh edition as the defending champions. They decided to go with Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah, leaving out some big names like Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya. Nevertheless, it’s a choice which cannot be debated as each team only gets to retain a maximum of 3 players.</p>
<p>The returning sides Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings made some obvious choices as well. Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina were retained by Chennai and Steve Smith was the one sole person who will continue with Rajasthan. Barring the obvious choices, there were some really surprising and debatable picks made by franchises. Here’s the list of five players, whose retention raised a lot of eyebrows.</p>
<h3>1. Sarfaraz Khan (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – 1.75 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_62490" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-62490" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2016/04/Sarfaraz-Khan.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-62490" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Sarfaraz-Khan.jpg" alt="Sarfaraz Khan" width="600" height="409" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-62490" class="wp-caption-text">Sarfaraz Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>No doubt, this lad is one of the most talented youngsters in the country. But no one pinned their hopes on Sarfaraz Khan to get retained. Royal Challengers Bangalore decided to place their bet on this young uncapped player for INR 1.75 crore.</p>
<p>This indeed is the biggest moment of the youngster’s career and each and every Indian would love to see him excel.&nbsp; But one thing we can’t deny is his retention was surprising. He missed the 10 season after suffering a serious injury just before the tournament began, but he will be ready to go all guns blazing this time around.</p>
<h3>2. Axar Patel (Kings XI Punjab) – 6.75 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_131277" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-131277" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Axar-Patel.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-131277" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Axar-Patel.jpg" alt="Axar Patel IPL" width="602" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-131277" class="wp-caption-text">Axar Patel. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Kings XI Punjab have opted to leave their talismanic performers, Glenn Maxwell, Hashim Amla and even David Miller, only to stick with Axar Patel. The all-rounder from Gujarat has been performing well in the few chances he’s getting to play for India and that possibly earned him the retention.</p>
<p>But they could’ve picked him for something around Rs. 6.75 crore in the auction as well with an RTM given that his retention cost the team 12.5 crore since he was the only player that KXIP decided to hold onto for now.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>3. Rishabh Pant (Delhi Daredevils) – 8 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_139698" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-139698" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Rishabh-Pant-1.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-139698" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Rishabh-Pant-1.jpg" alt="Rishabh Pant" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139698" class="wp-caption-text">Rishabh Pant. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The southpaw from Delhi, Rishabh Pant has bagged a Rs. 8 crore deal with the team. And they picked him as the first player thus the team took a cut worth 15 crore from the salary purse to get him on board. Indeed a huge moment in his career and he will be overwhelmed with this.</p>
<p>But isn’t this deal too big for a player who hasn’t even play 5 International games? Well, many expected Delhi would retain him, but not for this amount. In his defence, he recently led Delhi into the finals of the Ranji Trophy and DD are probably looking at him to maintain the local connection for the team.</p>
<h3>4. Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders) – 7 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_62211" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-62211" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2016/04/Andre-Russell.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-62211" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Andre-Russell.jpg" alt="Andre Russell" width="600" height="416" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-62211" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>A huge call made by the KKR management to go with Andre Russell. After getting banned from playing the gentleman’s game, Russell has completely disappeared from the spotlight. It’s been long since anyone of us have seen him in action.</p>
<p>Will he get enough match practice before getting into the tournament, maybe not! But the management believes he can deliver and hence, they decided to pay him 7 crore whereas the impact of his retention on their overall purse was worth Rs. 8.5 crore.</p>
<h3>5. Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) – 8.5 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_143254" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-143254" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/05/Sunil-Narine.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-143254" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Narine.jpg" alt="Sunil Narine of Kolkata" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-143254" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Narine of Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Many might disagree with us for including Narine in this list, but it’s been long since he bamboozled batting lineups the way he did. Though he does command a place at the top of the order now as a pinch hitter, he is a jack of both the trades.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-retention-kolkata-knight-riders-retain-two-players-2018-season/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Kolkata Knight Riders</strong></a> management is ready to pay him Rs. 8.5 crore and took a cut worth 12.5 crore from their purse given he was the top player among the two retained. But as of now, a lot of KKR fans and experts are in disagreement with their decision to go for Narine over someone like Gautam Gambhir who also is the leader of the team.</p>

<p>The 11th edition of the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian Premier League (IPL)</strong></a> is still four months away from commencement, but the excitement vibes are already spreading. All the teams announced the players they have decided to retain for IPL 2018 before the auction. There were some jaw-dropping calls made by the franchises. But a lot of aspects on the financial and managerial aspects were taken into consideration before arriving at the names.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-retention-mumbai-indians-retain-three-players-2018-season/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mumbai Indians</strong></a> will be entering the eleventh edition as the defending champions. They decided to go with Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah, leaving out some big names like Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya. Nevertheless, it&#8217;s a choice which cannot be debated as each team only gets to retain a maximum of 3 players.</p>
<p>The returning sides Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings made some obvious choices as well. Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina were retained by Chennai and Steve Smith was the one sole person who will continue with Rajasthan. Barring the obvious choices, there were some really surprising and debatable picks made by franchises. Here&#8217;s the list of five players, whose retention raised a lot of eyebrows.</p>
<h3>1. Sarfaraz Khan (Royal Challengers Bangalore) &#8211; 1.75 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_62490" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-62490" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2016/04/Sarfaraz-Khan.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-62490" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Sarfaraz-Khan.jpg" alt="Sarfaraz Khan" width="600" height="409" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-62490" class="wp-caption-text">Sarfaraz Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>No doubt, this lad is one of the most talented youngsters in the country. But no one pinned their hopes on Sarfaraz Khan to get retained. Royal Challengers Bangalore decided to place their bet on this young uncapped player for INR 1.75 crore.</p>
<p>This indeed is the biggest moment of the youngster&#8217;s career and each and every Indian would love to see him excel.  But one thing we can&#8217;t deny is his retention was surprising. He missed the 10 season after suffering a serious injury just before the tournament began, but he will be ready to go all guns blazing this time around.</p>
<h3>2. Axar Patel (Kings XI Punjab) &#8211; 6.75 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_131277" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-131277" style="width: 602px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Axar-Patel.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-131277" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Axar-Patel.jpg" alt="Axar Patel IPL" width="602" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-131277" class="wp-caption-text">Axar Patel. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Kings XI Punjab have opted to leave their talismanic performers, Glenn Maxwell, Hashim Amla and even David Miller, only to stick with Axar Patel. The all-rounder from Gujarat has been performing well in the few chances he&#8217;s getting to play for India and that possibly earned him the retention.</p>
<p>But they could&#8217;ve picked him for something around Rs. 6.75 crore in the auction as well with an RTM given that his retention cost the team 12.5 crore since he was the only player that KXIP decided to hold onto for now. </p>
<h3>3. Rishabh Pant (Delhi Daredevils) &#8211; 8 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_139698" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-139698" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/04/Rishabh-Pant-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-139698" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Rishabh-Pant-1.jpg" alt="Rishabh Pant" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139698" class="wp-caption-text">Rishabh Pant. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The southpaw from Delhi, Rishabh Pant has bagged a Rs. 8 crore deal with the team. And they picked him as the first player thus the team took a cut worth 15 crore from the salary purse to get him on board. Indeed a huge moment in his career and he will be overwhelmed with this.</p>
<p>But isn&#8217;t this deal too big for a player who hasn&#8217;t even play 5 International games? Well, many expected Delhi would retain him, but not for this amount. In his defence, he recently led Delhi into the finals of the Ranji Trophy and DD are probably looking at him to maintain the local connection for the team.</p>
<h3>4. Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders) &#8211; 7 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_62211" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-62211" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2016/04/Andre-Russell.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-62211" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Andre-Russell.jpg" alt="Andre Russell" width="600" height="416" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-62211" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>A huge call made by the KKR management to go with Andre Russell. After getting banned from playing the gentleman&#8217;s game, Russell has completely disappeared from the spotlight. It&#8217;s been long since anyone of us have seen him in action.</p>
<p>Will he get enough match practice before getting into the tournament, maybe not! But the management believes he can deliver and hence, they decided to pay him 7 crore whereas the impact of his retention on their overall purse was worth Rs. 8.5 crore.</p>
<h3>5. Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) &#8211; 8.5 crore</h3>
<figure id="attachment_143254" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-143254" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2017/05/Sunil-Narine.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-143254" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Narine.jpg" alt="Sunil Narine of Kolkata" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-143254" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Narine of Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Many might disagree with us for including Narine in this list, but it&#8217;s been long since he bamboozled batting lineups the way he did. Though he does command a place at the top of the order now as a pinch hitter, he is a jack of both the trades.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-retention-kolkata-knight-riders-retain-two-players-2018-season/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Kolkata Knight Riders</strong></a> management is ready to pay him Rs. 8.5 crore and took a cut worth 12.5 crore from their purse given he was the top player among the two retained. But as of now, a lot of KKR fans and experts are in disagreement with their decision to go for Narine over someone like Gautam Gambhir who also is the leader of the team.</p>

The southpaw from Delhi, Rishabh Pant has bagged a whopping Rs. 15 Crore deal.

IPL 2018: 5 Surprising Retentions made by franchises

IPL Player Retention 2018: The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is still four months away from commencement, but the excitement vibes are already spreading.