IPL 2022 auction: 4 top retained batters 

IPL 2022 is going to be a 10-team event with Lucknow and Ahmedabad entering the picture this year.

Both the new teams have named their draft picks i.e. Rashid Khan (₹15 crores), young gun Shubman Gill (₹8 crores) and Hardik Pandya (₹15 crores) for Ahmedabad and KL Rahul (₹17 crores), Marcus Stoinis (₹9.2 crores) and Ravi Bishnoi (₹4 crores) for Lucknow.

The existing eight teams retained a total of 27 players in their squad. While four teams retained four players, the remaining teams went ahead with three or fewer retentions.

There were many wonderful batters who had fabulous performances in IPL 2021. However, only a few could make the retention list. In this article, we will take a look at four such batters who forced their respective franchises to retain them with their performances.

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#4 Prithvi Shaw

India Test Headshots Session

Prithivi Shaw was a part of the Delhi Capitals camp in 2021 and the opener went on an explosive streak throughout the season. Getting them off to a flying start in most games, Shaw slammed 479 runs in 15 matches at an average of 31.93.

In the process, he became the seventh-best run-scorer in IPL 2021. Looking at his potential and form, Delhi Capitals decided to retain him for the coming season at a price of ₹7.5 crores.

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#3 Venkatesh Iyer

India v New Zealand - T20 International

Venkatesh Iyer surprised everyone with his skills as an all-rounder in the UAE-leg of IPL 2021. As an opener, he smashed 370 runs in just 10 games at an average of 41.11. In his role as a part-time bowler, Iyer picked up three wickets with a best of 2/29. Iyer smashed four half-centuries in last year's tournament and played a crucial role in taking his team to the IPL final.

Iyer's performance impressed Team India selectors. He got a call-up to pull on the blue jersey in New Zealand for T20Is last year and South Africa for ODIs this year. He has been retained by KKR for ₹8 crores for the upcoming season.

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#2 Glenn Maxwell

New Zealand v Australia - T20 Game 3

Glenn Maxwell was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the 2021 season and he proved to be a great asset for the team. The Australian batting all-rounder scored 513 runs in 15 matches at an average of 42.75. He played an important role in getting RCB to the playoffs.

Given the damage he can do to the opposition, Maxwell was named in the retention list of the Challengers for a price of ₹ 11 crores along with Virat Kohli (₹15 crores) and Mohammed Siraj (₹7 crores).

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#1 Ruturaj Gaikwad

Gaikwad lofting it over covers

The Orange Cap winner of IPL 2021, Ruturaj Gaikwad was the best performer with the bat in the previous edition of the tournament. One of the key reasons behind the Chennai Super Kings bagging their fourth IPL title, Gaikwad smashed 635 runs at an average of 45.35. He also slammed four half-centuries and a century with 64 boundaries in total.

There was no doubt CSK were going to retain Gaikwad for IPL 2022. The young opener will earn ₹4 crores this year.

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Honorable Mentions: Rohit Sharma (₹16 crores), Moeen Ali (₹8 crores), Ravi Jadeja (₹16 crores), Rishabh Pant (₹16 crores), Mayank Agarwal (₹12 crores), Sanju Samson (₹14 crores)