IPL 2018: We Will Retain One Player - Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag, the mentor, Director of Operations and Head of Cricket Operations of Kings XI Punjab has revealed the strategy of the franchise before going into the retention ceremony.

He said the franchise will retain one player and would use the Right to Match Card (RTM) card on other players. Though Sehwag did not reveal the name of the player which the franchise has decided to retain,

“We are planning to retain one player
and use our Right To Match (RTM) cards for players who have done well for us like Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Hashim Amla, Sandeep Sharma or Mohit Sharma. We are planning to use all our RTM cards. We would like to pick new talent. We have done it inthe past with Sandeep Sharma or Axar Patel,” said Sehwag.

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Kings XI Punjab is yet to win an IPL title till now, and it was in 2014 when this team last played in the final of IP. In IPL 2017, KXIP failed to reach the second round after they lost their last league stage match.

After the loss, Sehwag blamed the foreign players for the team not reaching the next stage, which indicates the franchise might not retain any of the overseas players.

Before mega auction of IPL 2014, KXIP surprised everyone by retaining Manan Vohra and David Miller, a scene which could very well get repeated. The franchise can surprise everyone by retaining an out of contention player. Sandeep Sharma or Axar Patel could be a surprise pick.

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Both Axar and Sandeep are known for the economical bowling. In Sandeep’s case, he can also pick wickets with the new ball. Though both are capped players, a condition which could see them going into the auction.

KXIP will have to spend Rs 12.5 Crore if they retain just one player. The amount to be spent while using RTM card will be decided during the auction process.

The IPL auction ceremony is all set to take place on January 27 and 28 in Bangalore while the player’s retention ceremony will take place on January 4. In a first, the event will have a live telecast on Star Sports – which had bought the IPL broadcasting rights last year.

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