Thread by @KShriniwasRao

So, retention lists are final & I didn't all names right. Mumbai Indians picked Suryakumar & not Ishan and I'm sure they have very good reasons for it. In this #thread let's look at what could've possibly made each franchise arrive at decisions they did. Just follow the thread.

Rohit, Boom & Pollard were in. Question was who's 4th. I thought Ishan provided 2 options -- batting & keeper. But MI made the difficult decision to go with Sky because he provides a solid base in middle order. Rohit at top, SKY in middle, Polly to finish, Boom to lead attack.

MI can now build their squad around these 4 trusted hands. They had to let go of Hardik -- their home grown talent -- and it must be hurting. So many successes. But again, Hardik has to work on his bowling and come back because that's what makes him special -- the allrounder tag.

Now, let's move to CSK. MSD is pure emotion and I don't think CSK even thought twice. They won't even mind keeping him their highest paid player (among those retained) given the brand he is for the franchise. But mind you, he may not necessarily be their highest paid player...

Ruturaj & Jadeja are the two most obvious choices CSK could've made. Both are irreplaceable. But in having to do that, they've had to let go of other good hands. Shardul and Faf for example. They've retained Moeen for the simple reason -- multi-utility player. Great decision.

Royal Challengers have a task up their hands. They couldn't hold back Chahal, who's been a great asset. And they're now without a quality spinner. Also, they have to pick a captain now, considering Virat won't lead. KL Rahul is not available. They have a mountain to climb.

Sunrisers will be hurting -- not because they couldn't hold back a lot of big names but because they've not managed to build a trust in the team... and that's evident with Warner and Rashid Khan's exit. A good team is one where you have more options to retain than to let go.

Although I think they've been fair to Abdul Samad & Umran Malik, who SRH will be spending 4 crs each on (uncapped). That gives them an opportunity to build on attack but they have a lot of team-building exercises to do going forward. Too much pressure on good old Kane once again.

Knights have let Shubhman go. And I can't understand why. Was it financials and they couldn't arrive at a justified salary? Time will tell how big a loss this is. Narine has been an old hand, Iyer and Chakravarthy have proved their worth. But is Russell still the player he was?

Delhi Capitals have let go of Shreyas Iyer (clearly he didn't want to stay after losing captaincy) & Shikhar Dhawan -- Capitals' best batsman over the last couple of seasons. Prithvi is still unpredictable but Axar & Nortje could be the choices. Pant has to build a team now.

Punjab have had yet another disappointing week & this time when they head into the auction they better go with a 'plan'. Shahrukh Khan has clearly said no to Priety Zinta and Bishnoi also has his plans. Both have refused to stay. Mayank and Arshdeep have a challenge on hands.

Rajasthan Royals are in same boat as Punjab. They've managed to hold Samson, Butler & Jaiswal but what they need are big match players. Samson is super talent but consistency hasn't been his strength yet. Butler can't be under too much pressure. RR, like Punjab, have to rebuild.

All the players who've been let go will first be available to the two new franchise to sign up. They can sign in same manner as retentions. Post that, the remaining will go to the auction. Lucknow has Rahul. Ahmedabad will go for Iyer at all costs. That's writing on the wall.

Rs 16 cr, Rs 12 cr, Rs 9 cr, Rs 6 cr (and Rs 4 cr for uncapped). That's what is the total money that gets blocked after retentions. For instance, MI have their Rs 44 cr blocked and same is the case with CSK and Knights who have retained all capped players.

okay... Delhi Capitals too have blocked Rs 44 cr... so not three but four franchises have used all the retention money.

That leaves the remaining four original franchises with relatively more money to spend. Sunrisers have blocked just Rs 24 cr.

Punjab have blocked just Rs 20 cr.

Rajasthan have blocked Rs 32 cr.

RCB have saved a chunk but not holding back Chahal which makes me think there's been a salary barter in holding back Maxwell and Siraj because VK clearly is the elephant in the room. Ideally, they should be left with Rs 12 cr of retention money.

The total prize purse available at the auction is Rs 90 cr. That means, MI, CSK, KKR and Delhi go to the auction with just Rs 46 cr in hand. That means there'll have to be some very clinical to be made and that's why teams that have one good hand at every position will benefit.

CSK will have to look at the prospect of MSD not being their lead player at some point. So, they have to buy accordingly at the auction, invest in a young talent and bet big. In that lies their challenge. Right now, MI once again comes across as most well-rounded.

Punjab have saved Rs 22 cr from retention fee, Rajasthan have saved Rs 12 cr and Sunrisers have saved Rs 10 cr... that means they PK have Rs 68 cr left, RR have Rs 58 cr and SRH have Rs 56 cr left. All have more money than MI, CSK, KKR and DC.

Now the whole challenge for these teams -- Punjab, Rajasthan and Hyderabad -- is how judiciously they use their money. They've been in this game far too long and understand the space well. They might as well put that experience to use now.

BCCI must now work at making this the last mega-auction and let all franchises build their own ecosystems. The two new teams are also being given their share of choices. So, there's no space for cribbing going forward. As IPL expects, they're all on an equal level-playing field.