Explained: Why DC lost ₹50 lakh more from their auction purse than CSK, KKR & MI

The Delhi Capitals on Tuesday released their IPL retention list, which saw many of the core group of players heading straight into the auction pool. The franchisee decided to retain the services of players like Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, and Anrich Nortje for IPL 2022 but eyebrows were raised after Ravichandran Ashwin, former skipper Shreyas Iyer and Kagiso Rabada were let go by the team into the auction pool.

Apart from the retention list, the other talking point of this IPL retention was Delhi Capitals losing ₹50 lakh more from their auction purse than Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI).

Why did Delhi Capitals lose ₹50 lakh more during IPL retention?

With a total auction purse of ₹90 crore available at the mega auction for each team, the eight franchises were eligible to retain up to 4 players, with a maximum of 3 Indians, 2 overseas players and 2 uncapped Indian players. While Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders saw ₹42 crores being deducted from their auction purse, Delhi Capitals, after retaining three Indians and one overseas player for a total of 39 crores, saw ₹42.5 crores deducted from the purse.

If you are still wondering the reason behind the deduction of an extra ₹50 lakh, it is due to the IPL retention rule which clearly states that a team would lose money if they pay a player above the prescribed amount of the auction rules.

"If the League Fee agreed with a Retained Player exceeds the relevant prescribed amount, then an amount equal to that higher League Fee shall be deducted from the relevant Franchisee’s Salary Cap. The guidelines further state that if the League Fee agreed with a Retained Player is less than the relevant prescribed amount, then an amount equal to the relevant prescribed amount shall be deducted from the relevant Franchisee’s Salary Cap," states IPL retention rule on auction purse.

In Delhi's case, they've paid ₹6.5 crore to Anrich Nortje, who is 4th on the list of retained players by Delhi Capitals. This is ₹50 lakh more than IPL's prescribed price for a player who is retained as the 4th option.

The Chennai Super Kings retained Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad, losing ₹42 crore from their auction purse.

Mumbai Indians also lost the same amount of money after retaining four players - Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard. Kolkata Knight Riders also saw ₹42 crore being deducted from their purse after retaining Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine.

Retention list of other IPL teams

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad retained Kane Williamson (₹14 crore) to lead the franchise. Apart from him, the team also retained two uncapped Indian players in Abdul Samad and Umran Malik at ₹4 crore each.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The Bangalore-based franchise have retained former captain Virat Kohli (₹15 crore), Glenn Maxwell (₹11 crore), and Mohammed Siraj (₹7 crore).

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals have backed their skipper Sanju Samson (₹14 crore), England star Jos Buttler (₹10 crore), and the young Yashasvi Jaiswal (₹4 crore).

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings retained opener Mayank Agarwal (₹12 crore) and uncapped seamer Arshdeep Singh (₹4 crore).