A look at players RCB, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals and SRH might retain ahead of IPL mega auction

With the deadline day of November 30 approaching, all the existing eight franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) are busy sorting out their final lists of retained players. All eight teams can retain a maximum of only four players while the two new teams - Ahmedabad and Lucknow franchises will be allowed to pick three players each from the list of non-retained players.

The mega player auction is set to be conducted ahead of the start of IPL 2022 next year and all teams will be looking to build their squads from scratch while retaining a strong core group of players. Here we take a look at who Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals might retain ahead of the IPL mega auction.

1) Royal Challengers Bangalore - Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell

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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will not have Virat Kohli leading the side from IPL 2022 and will also miss the services of AB de Villiers, who has already retired from all forms of cricket. However, RCB are all set to retain Kohli as a pure batter along with Glenn Maxwell, as per a report in NDTV.

While Kohli is likely to be the first-choice retention having spent his entire IPL career with RCB so far, Maxwell is all set to be the second player to be retained by RCB after being roped in last year. RCB might also look at retaining pacer Harshal Patel and opening batter Devdutt Padikkal.

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2)Rajasthan Royals - Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler

Rajasthan Royals have retained their skipper Sanju Samson for the upcoming IPL 2022 after agreeing to a contract of Rs 14 crore with the Indian keeper-batter, as per ESPN Cricinfo. RR have a number of stars in their ranks and the likes of Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer are among the favourites to be retained.

It remains to be seen how RR will go about their retentions ahead of the mega auction and who will they keep to form their core around ahead of the new season.

3) Punjab Kings - Mayank Agarwal, Ravi Bishnoi

Punjab Kings will part ways with their captain KL Rahul ahead of the new season. Rahul had expressed his willingness to leave the side and head into the auction. However, as per reports, he is set to join the Lucknow franchise and will captain the team in IPL 2022.

With Rahul not in the fray, Punjab Kings face a huge dilemma as some of the members of the team management reportedly feel none of Mayank Agarwal or Ravi Bishnoi is worth the money they would have to shell out to keep them. Punjab Kings might not retain any of the players from their existing squad.

Also Read:List of players likely to be retained by CSK, KKR, DC and MI ahead of IPL mega auction

4) Sunrisers Hyderabad - Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan

Sunrisers Hyderabad are reportedly keen on retaining only two players - Kane Williamson and Rashid Khan. However, Rashid is likely to be their second-choice retention behind Williamson which has not gone down well with the Afghanistan spinner, who wants himself to be the first pick.

If a franchise decides to retain only two players, the first-choice retention will get an amount of Rs 14 crore (INR 140 million) while the second-choice retention will be retained for Rs 10 crore (INR 100 million).