IPL 2022: CSK retain Dhoni for three seasons, Jadeja and Gaekwad will continue

Chennai Super Kings have decided to retain their long standing captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the next three seasons of the Indian Premier League.

Apart from Dhoni, the franchise has retained all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who played a key role as CSK won the 2021 IPL title.

As per BCCI rules, each team is allowed to retain a maximum of four players. CSK are also in talks with England all-rounder Moeen Ali to come on board. As BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that the next season of the IPL will be played in India, CSK feel Ali could be a handy player on Chennai’s slow, turning wicket.

If Ali does not agree to stay, CSK will have left-arm medium-pacer Sam Curran as their fourth retained player.

The franchises have to submit their list of retained players by November 30 and the IPL mega auction will be held next month.

It is no surprise that CSK retaining Dhoni, especially when he brings brand value to the team. At a recent CSK event, Dhoni had confirmed that his last T20 match would be in Chennai, putting an end to the speculations of his IPL retirement.

“I have always planned my cricket. My last ODI in India was in Ranchi. Hopefully my last T20 will be in Chennai. Whether it is next year or in five years’ time, I don’t know,” Dhoni had said.

This will be the first time that CSK have decided not to retain Suresh Raina. The former India batsman has been out of touch and hasn’t played important knockout IPL games.

Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals have retained wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, all-rounder Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw and pacer Enrique Nortje.

The Indian Express understands that the reason for releasing Shreyas Iyer is that he wanted to lead DC, but the franchise wanted to pursue Pant as their leader.

However, most of the franchises will be adopting the strategy of not retaining four players as it may put pressure on their purse during the auction.

It is believed that Mumbai Indians will retain Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. While talks are still on with West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard, the franchise is looking to buy Suryakumar Yadav from the auction pool and the chances of retaining Ishan Kishan are also bright.

Two new teams, Sanjeev Goenka’s RPSG Group and CVC Capitals (though they are yet to get the nod from the board) have started approaching some of the top Indian players.

India opener KL Rahul is likely to lead Goenka’s new Lucknow team. It is learned that Rahul has severed ties with Punjab Kings and has accepted Goenka’s offer. It is also learned that Yadav was approached by the new franchise but the batsman is yet to respond.