IPL 2014 Auctions: Retention report card of all teams

Phase I of pre-IPL preparations is over. The retention list of each team is out with full details, and now it’s time to look forward to the auctions.

But before all that are these retained players really worthy of their place in the team, is a question to ponder. Would there have been better players who could have been retained?

This article is an analysis into that, into the various positives and the negatives of the players retained by every team this year.

Chennai Super Kings

Players Retained: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin and Dwayne Bravo (FIVE)

Bravo will keep dancing in CSK colours!

Consistency in playing good cricket and consistency in retaining players in the squad are two major reasons why one of the most successful teams of the IPL remains this successful. Consistency has been associated with this team from the very first season.

Out of these 5 players retained, MSD, Raina and Ashwin have been with CSK since IPL I. These five are easily the best ones that can be retained by the franchise, although questions exist as to who could have been the other choices for retention.

While there was not much doubt about the retention of MSD, Raina and to an extent Jadeja too, the impact that Ashwin will have this season is quite doubtful. He is no more the bag of tricks he once was as a new sensation. He can be very expensive and inconsistent at times. However, he remains the crowd’s favourite as Chennai’s own boy.

In the galaxy of all-rounders that CSK possess, Dwayne Bravo was the best one to be retained. There were Albie Morkel, Faf du Plessis and Chris Morris who stood as strong contenders for this spot, but Bravo’s wonderful death bowling and power hitting makes him the best choice there.

Rating based on retention: 4.5/5

Delhi Daredevils

Players retained: None (ZERO)

DD will have a completely new team

From how badly they performed last season, this decision was much expected that DD would retain none, or just one player from their previous squad. Individually, they had many match winners in the team like David Warner, Virender Sehwag, Morne Morkel, Johan Botha etc., but they never were able to perform as a single unit.

Only Umesh Yadav, David Warner and Mahela Jayawardena had a fair IPL 6 season, playing consistently throughout their disastrous season.

Though doubts remain as to whether certain players like Warner or Morkel could be retained, not retaining everyone and rebuilding a new team altogether seems quite fair too.

Just like how Kolkata Knight Riders started their season back in 2011, completely afresh with a new set of players, DD should also look to now start from the scratch, looking for a new team that could get together to do well this season.

Rating based on retention: 4/5