Stars in focus at retention event

With one day remaining for the deadline to end, the franchises of the Indian Premier League are more or less certain about the players they want to retain for the 11th edition of the tournament.

Apart from having the opportunity to retain three players, each team has the chance to retain two more players at the auction on January 27 and 28, using their Right To  Match (RTM)  card. With  the RTM card, a franchise can retain its player by matching the highest bid made for the player at the auction.  

The player-retention event, to be held in Mumbai on Thursday, will be broadcast by Star Network.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore, who bolstered their coaching team with the addition of Gary Kirsten (mentor & batting coach) and Ashish Nehra (mentor & bowling coach), are all set to retain captain Virat Kohli. Kohli's terrific record with the team makes him an automatic choice.

AB de Villiers, RCB's other stalwart, is a also strong contender to be retained. The dashing South African batsman is likely to be involved in a four-match Test series against Australia but should be available for the IPL  as the final Test concludes  on April 3.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, whose career received a lift thanks to his impressive show at the RCB, will also be in consideration. With Chahal being a capped player, RCB will have to shell out seven crore if he is going to be the third player to be retained, with the first two accounting for Rs 15 and Rs 11 crore respectively. A total of Rs 33 crore going from the cap of Rs 80 crore in such a scenario, teams will have to make a choice whether that will be a wise decision.

Meanwhile, defending champions Mumbai Indians, in all likelihood, will retain skipper Rohit Sharma along with the Pandya brothers  --  Hardik and Krunal. The  under-performing Delhi Daredevils may keep Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer in their stable. "Rohit is an automatic retention having led the team to three titles. Hardik Pandya is  a  match-winner and the interesting third retention would be Krunal Pandya," an official said.

Steve Smith is expected to be retained by Rajasthan Royals. The Chennai Super Kings are set to keep  three of their marquee players -- skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja