MS Dhoni's Reunion With Chennai Super Kings In Doubt

Chennai Super Kings’ hopes of seeing the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina in the yellow jersey once again is looking bleak at the moment as one of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have reportedly raised its reservation over the possibility of allowing the Chennai-based to retain players following the two year absence.

In the recently held meeting of the IPL governing council meeting, three teams did not want any player retention while the rest were in its favour. According to Indian Express, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals wanted first right over the players they had signed in 2015 but at least one other franchise wanted the concerned authorities to explain how that could be allowed.

The news outlet further claimed that three teams – Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab – didn’t want any player retention. However, they did not get the backing from the other teams. Three time IPL champions Mumbai Indians wanted to retain 5 to 6 players, Chennai Super Kings wanted 4, Delhi Daredevils wanted 3, Royal Challengers Bangalore wanted 5 while Sunrisers Hyderabad wanted 1.

Two franchises also wanted the auction to be held in London but the idea was rejected by the others.
IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla later stated that the franchise owners were invited so that the governing council can discuss different topics with them in length ahead of the mega auction.

“There were number of issues including number of players, salary cap of the players , the playing squad, and the total number of teams – all these issues were discussed other than the venue for auction and the dates of auction and the inaugural ceremony, all these things had been discussed at length,” Shukla was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

Shukla also declined to comment on the retention policy.

“Right now I can’t say anything, because once we take the decision about retention and right to match after then I can tell you. The decision will be taken depending upon the players as well as what the teams agree on,” Shukla said.

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