Highlights, IPL 2018 Players Retention: Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit, Warner, Smith retained by their respective franchises

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was back at his 'spiritual home' Chennai Super Kings while Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained India captain  Virat Kohli during the much- publicised yet predictable Indian Premier League retention event this evening in Mumbai. Mumbai Indians had the league's most successful captain Rohit Sharma back in their stable as most of the retentions happened on expected lines. All-rounder Hardik Pandya and pacer Jasprit Bumrah are second and third retentions for the defending champions. 

Current Australia skipper Steve Smith was Rajasthan Royals' only pick while his deputy David Warner remains with Sunrisers Hyderabad along with pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.  One of the notable names not to be retained is long-time Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir, who is now back in the auction pool with West Indians Sunil Narine and Andre Russell being the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise's two picks.  Kings XI Punjab had left-arm spinner Axar Patel in their ranks while South African Chris Morris, young guns Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer are back with Delhi Daredevils. 

The franchises that has gone for full three retentions are CSK, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils and RCB.  CSK have retained their powerhouse performers Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina as their second and third choice respectively. AB de Villiers is RCB's second retention while they have kept uncapped Sarfaraz Khan for Rs 3 crore while putting Chris Gayle back in the auction pool. 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM IPL PLAYER RETENTION 2018 IN MUMBAI

19.20 IST: 

19.12 IST: 

19.10 IST: 

19.07 IST: 2016 IPL Champions Sunrisers Hyderabad have also announced their list as they stick with 'pocket dynamo' - David Warner and 'swing king' -  Bhuvneshwar Kumar #IPLRetention

19.03 IST: Making a comeback after the suspension of two years - Rajasthan Royals retain Test match Terminator Steven Smith

19.01 IST: First retention from Kings XI Punjab as they keep all-rounder Axar Patel.

19.00 IST: Kolkata have set the ball rolling, they retain match-winner Trinidadian Sunil Narine. 

18.59 IST: 

18.57 IST: KKR welcomes fiery West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell, he gets the nod over the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn.

18.56 IST: Chennai Super Kings retain MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja for the 11th edition of IPL.

18.55 IST: BCCI CEO Rahul Johri starts the event.

18.51 IST: Ricky Ponting appointed as Head Coach of Delhi Daredevils for the 2018 season.

18.46 IST: 

18.45 IST: 

18.42 IST: Young Shreyas Iyer got his due for his splendid performance for the national team.

18.38 IST: The defending champions have announced the list.

18:30 IST: Here is a detailed list of players who are likely to be retained for the upcoming season.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja (Dwayne Bravo, if fit, may be reserved for the Right to Match list)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Deepak Hooda

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Yuzvendra Chahal, AB de Villiers

Delhi Daredevils: Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer

Rajasthan Royals: Steve Smith

Kings XI Punjab: There is a high possibility that Punjab might not retain any of their players and may go all out in the player auction to be held in Bengaluru on January 27-28.

18:25 IST: While Mumbai Indians have already made it clear that they are, in all likelihood, going to retain Rohit Sharma along with Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, Chennai Super Kings, who will be back in action this year, would like to retain MS Dhoni for the upcoming edition.

18:20 IST: Following will apply irrespective of player retention or RTM:

Maximum of 3 capped Indian players.

Maximum of 2 overseas players.

Maximum of 2 uncapped Indian players.

The player pool available for CSK and RR for retention/RTM will be the players' who played for them respectively in IPL 2015 and who were part of Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions squads in IPL 2017.

18.15 IST: Salary Cap

2018 - INR 80 Crore

2019 - INR 82 Crore

2020 - INR 85 Crore

The minimum spend will be 75 per cent of the salary cap for each season.

18.10 IST: There can be a maximum of either three retentions or three RTMs at the discretion of the franchises and if there is no retention before player auction, then franchises can have up to three RTMs, as per the norms put in place by the IPL GC. The break-up is: Maximum number of 3 capped Indian players, 2 overseas players and 2 uncapped Indian players each.

18.00 IST: Each team can opt for up to five players by virtue of a combination of Player Retention (Pre Player Auction) and Right to Match (RTM) (during the Player Auction), according to the decision of the IPL GC at its meeting in New Delhi on December 6.