RCB and KKR in Quandary over Retaining Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir

With the mega-auction for another season of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) coming up in less than a month, franchise-based team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in quandary over retaining their captains Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir before they head into the auctions.

While teams like Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians will too have a plenty of options to chose from but it will be easy them as they have identified their core players over the years and know what will also cater to their fan base.

However, in case of RCB, it won’t be too easy to leave out their skipper Virat Kohli just for the outstanding performer he is, leave aside the brand value he brings with him. But it will cost a lot for RCB as Kohli’s retention value will match his stature.

According to the new rules decided at the IPL Governing Council meeting, if a team were to retain one or two players, the guideline price for the top player is Rs 12.5 Cr. If the franchise goes for three players, the highest one player can get is Rs 15 crore.

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The tricky new IPL rule states:

“The deduction from the salary purse in case of retention will be determined on the basis of guideline price or actual price (whichever is higher).” The whichever is higher clause was introduced during this year and Kohli was being paid Rs 15 crore and RCB had to pay only Rs 12 crore from its purse.

Now, if RCB opts to retain three players – Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Yuzvendra Chahal, the amount cut from the Rs 80 crore salary cap will be almost 33 crores. After that, it will be a tough task to form a team of more than 20 players with that kind of account balance.

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On the other hand, for Gambhir as led KKR to two IPL titles. However, his ability as a batsman could be the concern for the KKR management. He is the fourth highest scorer in the IPL with 4100 runs but it is important to note that his career strike rate of 120 is the lowest among the top scorers. Moreover, he has the lowest strike-rate among the top 20 players who have scored 2000 or more runs in the IPL.

The age-factor can also go against him as he is 36 now. If the franchise wants to buy a player for three years, Gambhir will be close to 40 by the time the three-year contract terminates, as a result, KKR will be eyeing for a younger captain this year.

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