IPL 2020 Auction: One surprise retention made by each team

With exactly a month remaining before the IPL auction, all the franchises have begun preparations by releasing the list of players they wish to retain for the next season.

All the teams have retained players who have either had a role to play in their last outing or have the potential to make a difference to the franchise in the upcoming season.

However, a few of the retained players haven't offered great returns to their respective IPL teams against their price tag, thereby raising questions concerning their retention this year.

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Here's a look at one surprising retention made by each team ahead of the IPL auction:

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#8 Royal Challengers Bangalore - Pawan Negi

RCB will expect Negi to put up a better show in 2020

Retained players: Virat Kohli, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, Parthiv Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Pawan Negi, Devdutt Padikkal, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Navdeep Saini, and AB de Villiers.

Pawan Negi's retention by the Bangalore franchise came as a surprise to fans. The Delhi all-rounder who was bought back by RCB using an RTM card in 2018, played only 2 matches in the entire season and was still surprisingly retained for IPL 2019.

Yet again in 2019, Negi was part of the squad and was seen warming the bench, making only seven appearances in the entire edition. Even for IPL 2020, despite not making any notable contributions in 2019, Negi has somehow managed to extend his association with the Royal Challengers.

His retention has come as a major surprise every year and the story isn't too different this time around either. For the past two years, he has merely been a spectator, adding no value to the team's campaign. In the past two seasons, Negi has played nine matches for the Kohli-led side, adding only four wickets to his tally. His presence in the side, unfortunately, signifies RCB's policies of believing in quantity over quality.

#7 Kings XI Punjab - Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan

Retained players: KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Mohammed Shami, Nicholas Pooran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Hardus Viljoen, Darshan Nalkande, Sarfaraz Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, and Murugan Ashwin

The 22-year old youngster, Sarfaraz Khan, who hails from Mumbai was one of Kings XI Punjab's cheapest buys in the auction in 2019. He was bought for an auction price of INR 25 lakhs. Punjab were struggling for a decent middle-order Indian batsman who could hold the innings together and believed Sarfaraz would do the job for the side.

However, despite beginning well in the season, his performances took a major dive as the tournament went along. The Mumbai batsman could only muster 180 runs in 8 innings and was dropped during the later stages of the league. His ouster from the playing XI suggested Punjab would be looking for other players who could don a similar role.

However, Kings XI yet again retained Khan for IPL 2020, which doesn't provide any clarity over the middle-order spot in their team. His retention is a major surprise and more so when some of the finest Indian batsmen are waiting in wings for an opportunity.

#6 Kolkata Knight Riders - Kamlesh Nagarkoti

The world will have its eyes pinned on Nagarkoti

Retained players: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, and Shivam Mavi

One of India's young and rising stars, Kamlesh Nagarkoti grabbed eyeballs with his express quick bowling in India's U-19 World Cup-winning campaign in 2018 in New Zealand.

Considering his menacing pace and the extra zip in his bowling, he was bought by KKR in the 2018 IPL auction for INR 3 Cr. The fast bowler from Rajasthan who was believed to wreak havoc with his ability to bowl quick, Nagarkoti, soon hit an injury streak after he was ruled out from IPL 2018.

However, failing to recover from his injury, he couldn't return to fitness in time even for the next season. Despite missing two editions on the trot, KKR have interestingly retained Nagarkoti yet again for IPL 2020.

He is expected to be fit and make his debut next year in the IPL. However, he will be short on any match time given he hasn't played any competitive cricket since February 2018. This will be a huge risk from KKR, making him play in a league that demands accuracy from the word go.

#5 Sunrisers Hyderabad - Sreevats Goswami

Sreevats Goswami

Retained players: Kane Williamson, David Warner, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Shahbaz Nadeem, Billy Stanlake, Basil Thampi, and T Natarajan

Sunrisers Hyderabad have made the least releases this time around. They have mostly let go of their back-up options, hoping to but their replacements at this year's IPL auction. However, a few of their retentions lack enough rationale, including the decision to retain Shreevats Goswami for the next season.

Sunrisers already fancy an explosive wicket-keeper opening batsman in Jonny Bairstow, who's a sure starter in the playing XI. The Orange Army consider Wriddhiman Saha the replacement for Bairstow at the top of the order. As a result, Goswami's inclusion in the side is a little unexpected.

Even in 2019, being a seasoned campaigner for Bengal, Goswami didn't get an opportunity to play even a single match in the entire season. He might once again be seen warming the bench for most of the season.

#4 Delhi Capitals - Avesh Khan

Avesh Khan

Retained players: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, and Sandeep Lamichhane

Avesh Khan is another young Indian speedster who hasn't done entire justice to his abilities as a fast bowler. He's quick and possesses a rare ability to swing the ball both ways at a decent speed. However, his inconsistency hasn't allowed him to make any further progress at the higher level.

Even in the IPL, playing for Delhi, Avesh is the third or the fourth choice seamer in the team. With the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Ishant Sharma making most of their opportunities, Avesh has never been a regular in the side.

In IPL 2019, he played a solitary game and went wicketless, doing no good to his cause for the remaining matches. Considering his no-show last season, and a spin-friendly track at Kotla, Delhi's decision to retain Avesh was quite surprising.

#3 Rajasthan Royals - Varun Aaron

Aaron's consistency will be a necessity for Royals

Retained players: Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Mahipal Lomror, Varun Aaron, and Manan Vohra

Rajasthan Royals have been the busiest franchise in the past few days in terms of getting their balance right before the auction. The Jaipur-based franchise have made some bizarre selections as far as their retention is concerned, ahead of IPL 2020.

Royals have retained Varun Aaron, who had a pretty mediocre season last year. In his five outings in Pink, Aaron added only four wickets to his overall tally. Despite being one of the senior players in the side, he has often struggled for consistency, especially in the IPL.

He is usually expensive, and his career economy of 8.74 in IPL also alludes to the same fact. The lack of variations in his bowling is one of the major reasons for his downfall in the T20 format.

#2 Mumbai Indians - Mitchell McClenaghan

McClenaghan will find it tough to break into the XI

Retained players: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Anmolpreet Singh, Jayant Yadav, Aditya Tare, Anukul Roy, Quinton de Kock, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, and Mitchell McClenaghan.

The defending Champions have retained their Indian core along with some of the overseas players to ensure the balance of their squad. Mumbai have also trusted Mitchell McClenaghan as their third seam bowling option to complement Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga in the fast bowling department.

However, his retention is confusing after MI roped in Trent Boult and Dhawal Kulkarni ahead of the auction this year. It is highly likely that Boult will start ahead of McClenaghan in most of the games for the Rohit Sharma-led side.

It will be a huge ask for the Kiwi pacer to break into the side. Even in the previous season, he wasn't a regular feature and managed to represent the franchise in only five matches.

#1 Chennai Super Kings - Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu will be a man on a mission in IPL 2020

Retained players: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, M Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Lungi Ngidi, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Narayan Jagadeeshan, Harbhajan Singh, KM Asif, Shardul Thakur, Shane Watson, Imran Tahir, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Chahar, Monu Kumar, and Karn Sharma

Ambati Rayudu was retained by Chennai Super Kings despite a forgetful outing with the bat in IPL 2019. Rayudu, who was a star with the bat for CSK in 2018, struggled miserably in the next season.

The Hyderabad batsman was even tried at different batting positions but his dismal show continued. He could only score 282 runs in 17 matches in the entire season. However, the right-hander was still retained by his franchise, with CSK showing faith in his abilities.

Rayudu who might have a point to prove in IPL 2020, will battle to find a place for himself in the playing XI. His recent performances haven't been promising enough for him to be a regular for CSK in the upcoming season.