Ahead of the IPL Auction in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28, the IPL Player Retention will be a crucial event as well. At the end of the ten seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the player contracts have expired with the teams getting a chance to start afresh. But, there is an opportunity for the franchises to keep some vital members of their squads in the past. Every team has a chance of retaining a maximum of three players. Two more players can be retained by a franchise but that would be at the IPL Auction by making use of their Right to Match (RTM) card.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals return to the mix after serving out their two season suspension and are replaced by Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS). This allows for CSK to retain their merculiar skipper in MS Dhoni and off-spinner R Ashwin to name the two vitals cogs in the wheel. For Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), whove added Ashish Nehra and Gary Kirtsen to their coach staff, Virat Kohli is an important player to keep hold of.
With Star India entering the picture by bagging the broadcast rights, every event will be aired live on TV and on their streaming property. The media giant bagged the IPL media rights in September for a period of five years starting 2018. They paid a jaw dropping Rs 16,347.50 crore to keep the former IPL broadcasters Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) at bay.
When is IPL Player Retention 2018: January 4, 2018
What time will IPL Player Retention 2018 air live: 6.50 PM IST onwards (1.20 PM GMT)
Which TV channel will broadcast IPL Player Retention 2018 live: Star Sports 2/HD, Star Sports Hindi 1/HD
Where can one live stream IPL Player Retention event live: It will air live on Star Sports streaming service Hotstar
In the past, player retentions used to take place via Emails with respective teams sending a communication to the BCCI of their decision. That trend, however, will see a change in 2018.
