Mumbai Indians (MI) have retained their best players within the allocated amount of 75 crores of INR, which was a miracle in itself. They got Jasprit Bumrah for INR 18 crores, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya for INR 16.35 crores, Rohit Sharma for 16.30 crores, and Tilak Varma for INR 8 crores. The most important question is, how was this equal distribution and players' position in the retention list decided?
As per ESPN Cricinfo, Mi senior management gave the players the option to decide on their amount. They also made it clear that they would retain Hardik Pandya as the captain of the team, as it would be wrong to judge him on his performance in the IPL 2024. Hardik is a prolific player and a leader, and he has the ability to lead the team. When the time came for the retention amount, collectively Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya decided that Bumrah deserved the first retention as he is a talented bowler and has done wonders for the team.
After that, the players went on to decide their own salary. Rohit went for a pay cut as he wanted the young guns to get what they deserved as he had already retired from the format. The former MI captain loves the franchise and decided in favour of young players which seemed quite emotional and heartwarming.
KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer to feature in IPL mega auction
Shockingly, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) did not retain their trophy-winning captain Shreyas Iyer before the mega auction. Iyer led the team to victory after 10 years in the IPL. This wasn't a good move by the franchise who are famous for letting go of the good players in the past as well.
Apart from that, LGS didn't retain KL Rahul and DC didn't keep Rishabh Pant in the retention list. Now, these three players will be seen on the auction table where all the franchises will get a chance to bid for them.