Indian captain Virat Kohli became the most expensive player in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL) after he was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a whopping Rs 17 crore rupees. The 29-year-old displaced Yuvraj Singh as the costliest IPLT20 player after RCB shelled out a lavish Rs 17 crores at IPL 2018 auction. Delhi Daredevils had bought Yuvraj for 16 crores during IPL 2015. Meanwhile, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma were retained by their respective franchises, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) respectively for Rs 15 crore.

Kohli has been in form of his life, hitting 2818 runs in all formats in 2017. The Indian skipper is an ace batsman and there is no doubt about it. It is only time when the Delhi batsman will bring the trophy home for Royal Challengers Bangalore for whom he has been associated since tournament’s inaugural season. And, IPL team showcased their immense trust on Kohli by paying a gigantic amount to retain him in the side.

The RCB skipper has made a total of 4418 runs in 149 matches at an impressive average of 37.44. There are several records Virat Kohli has broken and created during his IPL journey with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Some of the notable ones were being the fastest player to reach 4000 runs in IPL history. During IPL 2016, his best season so far, Kohli smashed 973 runs including four hundred at a phenomenal average of 81.08. Aaprt from Kohli, franchise has also retained South African player AB de Villers and uncapped player Sarfaraz Khan.

A total of 18 players were retained by eight teams including Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, which are back into action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after having faced a two-year ban. This took place at an auction held on 27 and 28 January. While Mumbai and Chennai retained their captains, Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders let go off Gautam Gambhir, under whose captaincy KKR has won the title twice.

Full List of Retained Players in IPL 2018 Auction

Mumbai Indians: Players retained: Rohit Sharma (Rs 15 crore), Hardik Pandya (Rs 11 crore), Jasprit Bumrah (Rs 7 crore); Deduction from salary cap: Rs 33 crore; Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 47 crore; Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2.

Royal Challenges Bangalore: Players retained: Virat Kohli (Rs 17 crore), AB de Villiess (Rs 11 crore), Sarfaraz Khan (Rs 1.75 crore); Deduction from salary cap: Rs 31 crore; Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 49 crore; Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Players retained: Sunil Narine (Rs 8.5 crore), Andre Russell (Rs 7 crore); Deduction from salary cap: Rs 21 crore; Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 59 crore; Right-to-match cards left at auction: 3.

Delhi Daredevils: Players retained: Rishabh Pant (Rs 8 crore), Chris Morris (Rs 7.1 crore), Shreyas Iyer (Rs 7 crore); Deduction from salary cap: Rs 33 crore; Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 47 crore; Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2.

Kings XI Punjab: Players retained: Axar Patel (Rs 6.75 crore); Deduction from salary cap: Rs 12.5 crore; Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 67.5 crore; Right-to-match cards left at auction: 3

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Players retained: David Warner (Rs 12 crore), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Rs 8.5 crore); Deduction from salary cap: Rs 21 crore; Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 59 crore; Right-to-match cards left at auction: 3

Chennai Super Kings: Players retained: MS Dhoni (Rs 15 crore), Suresh Raina (Rs11 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 7 crore); Deduction from salary cap: Rs 33 crore; Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 47 crore; Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2.

Rajasthan Royals: Players retained: Steven Smith (Rs 12 crore); Deduction from salary cap: Rs 12.5 crore; Salary cap remaining for player auction: Rs 67.5 crore; Right-to-match cards left at auction: 2.

The IPL player acquisition policy allows franchises to retain maximum five players by virtue of a combination of pre-auction retention and Right to Match (RTM) cards for the 2018 edition. Each squad can consist of a maximum number of 25 players (up to 8 overseas players) and a minimum of 18. (Inputs from Agencies).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 06, 2018 11:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).