The IPL 2022 mega-auction is set to take place on February 12 and 13. All the teams – including new ones Ahmedabad and Lucknow – have announced their retentions and top picks ahead of the mega-auction and the purse have deducted accordingly.
The purse for the IPL 2022 mega auction is INR 90 crore, which is 5 crore more than what was available in the last auction.
The 10-team IPL will have 74 games and the tournament, which the BCCI is hoping to conduct in India this time, will begin in the last week of March and will run until May end.
Here’s how all the 10 teams stack up ahead of the mega-auction:
Chennai Super Kings
The defending champions will continue to be led by MS Dhoni, although the Chennai Super Kings‘ skipper has been retained at the second pick at 12 crore with the first retention being all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja at 16 crore.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who was promoted to bat at number 3 and provides a handy off-spin option, is the third retention at 8 crore, while last season’s orange cap winner, Ruturaj Gaikwad, gets a 6 crore contract retention. Apart from an opener, CSK will be looking for high-quality pacers in the auction.
Purse remaining: 48 crore.
Delhi Capitals
Retained at 16 crore, Rishabh Pant will lead Delhi Capitals, while Shreyas Iyer has been released. Another big name to be released is Kagiso Rabada, but his compatriot Anrich Nortje has been retained for 6.5 crore.
All-rounder Axar Patel (9 crore) and dynamic opener Prithvi Shaw(7.5 crore) have also been retained. Middle-order batters and fast bowlers will be the primary category on their radar at the auction.
Purse remaining: 47.5 crore
Kolkata Knight Riders
Destructive all-rounder Andre Russell is, unsurprisingly, KKR’s first retention at 12 crore, followed by mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy and all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who turned their fortunes last season, both for 8 crore each. Talisman Sunil Narine is the last retention for 6 crore.
KKR failed at the last hurdle in IPL 2021; they’d want to get a better-rounded this time as they aim for their third IPL title.
Purse remaining: 48 crore
Mumbai Indians
The 5-time champions have retained captain Rohit Sharma (16 crore) and spearhead pacer Jasprit Bumrah (12 crore). Mumbai Indians had a tough decision to make regarding their third Indian retention. They went with Suryakumar Yadav (8 crore) over Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan. West Indian Kieron Pollard is the fourth retention for 6 crore.
Mumbai, who had a below-par last season where they failed to reach playoffs, are expected to bid big money for overseas fast bowlers at the auction, and expect them to unearth a couple of unknown domestic talents.
Purse remaining: 48 crore
Punjab Kings
Former captain and opener KL Rahul decided to leave Punjab Kings after being there since 2018. Punjab retained only two players: opener Mayank Agarwal, retained at 12 crore, and young pacer Arshdeep Singh for 4 crore, leaving a massive purse of 72 crore for the IPL 2022 mega-auction where they would hoping to build a solid team. Punjab hasn’t reached the playoffs since they reached the final in 2014.
Purse remaining: 72 crore
Rajasthan Royals
Sanju Samson will continue to lead the Rajasthan Royals and has been retained for 14 crore. Wicket-keeper opener Jos Buttler (10 crore) is the only overseas player to be retained by the Royals as they let go of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was impressive last season, will continue with RR and has been retained for 4 crore. The inaugural champions haven’t reached the playoffs in the last three seasons despite some big names in their squad.
Purse remaining: 62 crore
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli has stepped down as RCB’s captain but remains the franchises first retention at 15 crore, 2 crore less than his contract for the last four seasons. Glenn Maxwell, who was instrumental in RCB’s run to the top four last season, has been retained for 11 crore, so has been pacer Mohammed Siraj for 7 crore.
If not Maxwell, then RCB will be one of the teams looking for a new captain at the IPL 2022 mega-auction.
Purse remaining: 57 crore
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had a forgettable IPL 2021 finishing last on the table, have retained only 1 international player: captain Kane Williamson for 14 crore. David Warner has left the franchises while surprisingly, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Holder are also not retained.
Two uncapped Indian players – Abdul Samad and Umran Malik – have been retained for 4 crore each. SRH have the second biggest purse going into the IPL 2022 mega-auction.
Purse remaining: 68 crore
Team Ahmedabad:
Team Ahmedabad have announced their first three picks ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction: all-rounder Hardik Pandya (INR 15 crore) will captain for the first time in the IPL, superstar leg-spinner Rashid Khan(INR 15 crore) is the other pick, and young batsman Shubman Gill (INR 8 crore) is the third pick.
Ahmedabad have also roped in Ashish Nehra as the head coach and Gary Kirsten as the mentor and batting coach.
Purse remaining: 52 crore.
Lucknow Supergiants:
Lucknow has announced KL Rahul (17 crore) as the captain who now also becomes the joint-highest paid player in the IPL; Virat Kohli was being paid 17 crore by RCB from IPL 2018 to 2021.
Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has been picked at INR 9.2 crore while the third player is uncapped leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (INR 4 crore).
Lucknow have appointed former Zimbabwe captain and England coach Andy Flower as head coach for IPL 2022, and former KKR captain Gautam Gambhir as a mentor.
Purse remaining: 59 crore
