IPL 2018: MS Dhoni all set to return to Chennai Super Kings?

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Chennai Super Kings can retain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in IPL Season 11. File Pic

Internet Desk: Now there is no barrier for former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to return to his old Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings after the IPL Governing Council and CoA met at New Delhi today. In the meeting they have come to a decision that the player pool available for CSK and RR for retention/RTM will be the cricketers who played for the two teams back in 2015 and who were the players of Rising Pune Super Giants and Gujarat Lions squad for last couple of seasons when CSK and RR were banned for spot fixing row.

The other major decision which has been taken by the Governing Council is that an IPL franchise is eligible to retain five cricketers, three before the auction and the remaining two during the auction via ‘Right to Match’ card.

This will help the franchises to build a squad with it’s most important players still intact, and can then buy other players to form a formidable team. As far the RTM, each franchise can retain a maximum number of three capped Indian cricketers, two overseas players and a couple of uncapped Indian players. Beside these, the council and CoA also talked about the salary cap and other related issues.

Have a look at the major decisions taken at the meeting:

(A). Player Retention Policy

• A maximum of either 3 retention or 3 RTM at the discretion of the franchises
• If there is no retention before player auction then franchises can have up to 3 RTM

Following will apply irrespective of player retention or RTM –

• Maximum number of 3 Capped Indian players.
• Maximum number of 2 Overseas players.
• Maximum number of 2 Uncapped Indian players.

(B). 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.

(C). Player Retention Price Guideline

(i) Option 1

3 players retained pre- auction Salary Cap Charged Rs. Cr
Player 1 15
Player 2 11
Player 3 7

(ii) Option 2

2 players retained pre- auction Salary Cap Charged Rs. Cr
Player 1 12.5
Player 2 8.5

(iii) Option 3

1 player retained pre- auction Salary Cap Charged Rs. Cr
Player 1 12.5

• Uncapped players INR 3 crore per player.

• The deduction from salary purse in case of retention will be determined on the basis of guideline price or actual price (whichever is higher).

(D). Minimum Auction Reserve Price

Uncapped Players

Earlier Reserve Price New Reserve Price

INR 10 lakh INR 20 lakh

INR 20 lakh INR 30 lakh

INR 30 lakh INR 40 lakh

Capped Players

Earlier Reserve Price New Reserve Price

INR 30 lakh INR 50 lakh

INR 50 lakh INR 75 lakh

INR 1 cr INR 1 cr

INR 1.5 cr INR 1.5 cr

INR 2 cr INR 2 cr

(E). Franchise Squad Size

A maximum of 25 players (up to 8 overseas) and a minimum of 18 players.