IPL 2014 Auctions: Retention report card of all teams

Mumbai Indians

Players Retained: Rohit Sharma, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu (FIVE)

Harbhajan Singh, one of the players retained by MI

Mumbai Indians have done the wise thing by retaining their last season’s stand-in captain and best performer Rohit Sharma as he looks to be the man of the moment, enjoying a successful 2013-14 season and looks like he is at his best right now. Malinga and Pollard are tailor made for T20, and they deserve to be a part of the retained five.

The doubt however arises on the impact that Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu can have as retained players.

It was a predicted test between Dinesh Karthik and Rayudu for retention. Although Ambati Rayadu has shown to be more consistent, the more experienced DK, who can play shots all over the ground and has a very good wicket keeping ability, could have been picked over Rayudu.

Also, Harbhajan Singh no more is first choice in the Indian team, although he could prove to be a better player in Indian T20 conditions. But this meant that MI had to let go of Mitchell Johnson who now they have to pick up at the auction using their only right to match card.

If this was done for Harbhajan instead, probably the team could have saved some money. Even Dwayne Smith was an integral part of the team last year, and it remains to see whether MI picks him back at the auction.

Rating based on retention: 3/5

Rajasthan Royals

Players Retained: Sanju Samson, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Ajinkya Rahane, James Faulkner (FIVE)

Sanju Samson, the youngest to be retained

Rajasthan Royals were by far the most improved team amongst all the IPL teams last season. Gelled together by the presence and captaincy of the veteran Rahul Dravid, the whole team performed well, with each member of the XI contributing equally that the best five for retention among these could have not been easily named.

Shane Watson and Stuart Binny were the perfect all-rounders for RR. They batted well, bowled economically, picking up wickets at the right time and also fielded very well. There is absolutely no way the team would have performed this well if not for both these players.

Ajinkya Rahane was the perfect opening support for Rahul Dravid and will remain so to any opener who bats with him. Calm and composed, shots down the ground, and ability to play a long innings makes Rahane one of the best opening batsmen in T20 cricket.

James Faulkner last season proved to be RR’s trump card, performing exceedingly well every match to be one of the highest wicket takers in the previous season. His consistency and good pace makes him one of the five retained players in this RR setup.

Last but not the least, Sanju Samson, the youngest to be retained, was definitely a star for RR. In the Champions League T20, he played some wonderful innings under pressure which won the confidence of Dravid, who played him for every match after that.

These are the top five that could be retained by the team in any case. Although a few others like Kevon Cooper, Brad Hodge and Siddharth Trivedi did do a good job, they were not as worthy as the retained five. However, one of these above players could easily be bought back using the right-to-match card.

Rating based on retention: 4.5/5