New Delhi: Virat Kohli was among a host of big names to be retained by the franchise on Indian Premier League (IPL) retention deadline day. The Indian superstar was one of the three retained players by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday. While Kohli’s retention came on the expected line, the retained price became a huge topic of discussion.
The former RCB captain was retained for a whopping Rs 21 crore. Besides him, RCB also retained top-order batter Rajat Patidar (Rs 11 crore) and uncapped left-arm fast-bowler Yash Dayal (Rs 5 crore). The Bengaluru-based franchise released some big names including captain Faf du Plessis, swashbuckling all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Will Jacks, as well as veteran pacer Mohammed Siraj.
Kohli joins elite IPL club
After getting an eyewatering Rs 21 crore deal, Kohli became the first Indian to join an elite club.
Kohli is now the first Indian player to cross the Rs 20 crore mark in the IPL. Before him, Australia’s Pat Cummins (Rs 20.50 crore) and Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) were the only two players to cross the Rs 20 crore mark. Both players recieved the mega-deal in last year’s auction.
While Cummins was retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), albeit at a reduced price of 18 crore, Starc was released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Despite breaching the 20 crore mark, Kohli’s retention price of 21 crore is not the highest. South Africa’s Heinrich Klassen became the most expensive retention after SRH shelled Rs 23 crore to keep hold of the explosive batter.
Following the retention announcement, Kohli expressed his happiness in a video shared by RCB on social media.
“𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝟑-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝟐𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐂𝐁 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.”
King Kohli expresses his feelings and aspirations for the upcoming IPL ahead of the Mega Auction… pic.twitter.com/aKZEv8mtYf
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) October 31, 2024
Like Kohli, Rohit Sharma was also retained by his franchise Mumbai Indians. Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was the top retention for MI at Rs 18 crore followed by Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya (16.35 crore each). Meanwhile, Rohit was retained for Rs 16.30 crore and Tilak for Rs 8 crore.
