5 best retentions made by IPL franchises for the future
On 27 May 2018, the 11th edition of IPL ended on a high-note with CSK having a fairy-tale season, winning the title for the third time after a 2-year setback.
Entering into the second decade, the expectation of the tournament intensified when the eight franchises announced their respective pre-auction player retention on 4th January, 2018. With 18 players being retained on pre-auction buy, further 18 players were retained by the teams using RTM (Right-To-Match) in Vivo IPL auction 2018.
While some star players performed well below-par, few unexpected players out-performed from the list of 36 cricketers. So, with the end of another successful season, let's have a look at the list of players whose retention will reap immense rewards for different franchises in upcoming IPL seasons.
#5 Hardik Pandya, Mumbai Indians
The stylish all-rounder made giant strides as a limited-overs bowler in the 11th season of IPL. Retained for a hefty amount of 11 crores, Hardik had one of his best seasons with Mumbai Indians.
In 13 matches, Pandya picked up 18 wickets at an average of 21 and stood fifth in the list of leading wicket-takers. Though he was a bit expensive with an economy of 8.92, Hardik bowled most of his overs in the powerplay and death overs.
Pandya explored his role as a finisher with the bat, scoring 260 runs at a strike rate of 133 with a solitary fifty in the tournament.
Best Performance: Hardik won the MOM award in a home-leg match against Kolkata Knight Riders with a vital 35* off 20 balls and a match-winning spell of 4-0-19-2.
#4 Rashid Khan, Sunrisers Hyderabad
After an extraordinary debut season, a strong bidding took place between 4 franchises for Rashid Khan. Though Kings XI Punjab won the bid, Sunrisers Hyderabad used the RTM card stocked in specific for the leggie.
After retaining him for a whopping 9 crore, the burden on the leg-spinner was huge. As expected, Rashid Khan rose to the occasion and led the SRH bowling line-up with Bhuvneshwar Kumar being in and out of the team with a niggle.
In 17 matches, Rashid picked up 21 wickets at a staggering strike rate of 19.42, clinching 2nd place in the list of leading wicket-takers. With an economy rate of 6.73, he choked the batsmen with precision and uncertainty.
Best Performance: Rashid's best performance came at the biggest stage (Qualifier-2) against Kolkata Knight Riders. With 34* off 10 balls and a fierce spell which included three wickets, he single-handedly took SRH into their second IPL final.