Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni is set to lead in IPL 2022 as he was retained by the franchise for what is likely to be his last IPL season. Dhoni marched the side to their fourth IPL title last season after the team had had a disappointing IPL 2020.
Regarding the retention for CSK, though, the interesting fact is that Dhoni has been retained at the first position. It is superstar all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who has been retained in the first slot for 16 crore. MS Dhoni, 40, has been placed in the second retention slot, for 12 crore. This means that if Dhoni retires after IPL 2022, CSK will have 12 crore freed of their purse for the next mini-auction.
Moeen Ali (8 crore) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (6 crore) are the other two CSK retentions.
Meanwhile, there are two younger wicket-keepers who will earn more than MS Dhoni in IPL 2022:
Rishabh Pant – 16 crore
Rishabh Pant has been retained as the captain by Delhi Capitals, thus Shreyas Iyer moved out of the franchise which he led to the IPL 2020 final. Pant was given the captaincy when Iyer was ruled out of the tournament last year with a shoulder injury.
Even though Iyer returned for the UAE leg, the franchise decided to stick with Pant as their leader after the wicket-keeper had taken them to the top of the table in the first half; they finished the league stage as the table-toppers but lost both their playoff matches.
Pant’s strike rate of 128 last season was concerning, but the youngster has shown time and again the ability to quickly shut his detractors with his bat. 24-year-old Pant is also touted as a future India captain.
Sanju Samson-14 crore
Despite finishing 7th in the points table last season, Rajasthan Royals have shown faith in Sanju Samson by retaining him as the captain of the franchise. Samson is the first retention by the Royals for 14 crore, followed by Jos Buttler for 10 crore and young Yashasvi Jaiswal for 4 crore.
Sanju Samson had taken over the captaincy duties last season after Steve Smith was released. While Samson had a prolific IPL 2021 with the bat – 484 runs at a strike rate of 136 – he couldn’t take his side through to the playoffs. Samson would be hoping to use the upcoming IPL tournament as a pathway to make a comeback to the national side.
