It’s official!
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The IPL has decided to make a big event out of the player retention process this year, as they have allowed Star Sports to telecast the event on January 4th.
Previous retention processes just involved all eight franchises emailing their list of players to the IPL committee. But this year, Star wants to make a big event out of this, as the retained players will form the nucleus of all eight teams participating in this year’s event.
The return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals has generated a lot of excitement for IPL fans, as the former champions still command a huge fan base.
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While it is still not clear who the Royals will retain from their bunch of players, you can bet that MS Dhoni will certainly be retained by the Chennai Super Kings.
Dhoni’s retention is a contentious one for some, as Mahi may not necessarily be a long term prospect for Chennai. The legendary CSK skipper has around two-three good years left in him, which is why it is not entirely an emotional, or as some may say a marketing decision, to bring him back to Chennai.
Another iconic captain, whose future is currently in limbo is Gautam Gambhir. There is a wonderful and strong bond between Gambhir and Kolkata, as the Delhi batsman led the Knight Riders to two IPL titles during his time at the helm.
But with Gambhir now at the fag end of his career, KKR may want start afresh from next season on wards.
With so many story lines to watch out for, be sure to catch the IPL Retention Special on January 4 from 6:50 PM onwards on Star Sports 2/2 HD and 1 Hindi/1 HD Hindi.
