IPL Retention: Kohli Creates History, Klaasen Emerges As Highest-paid Retained Player

Virat Kohli has become the highest-paid Indian player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) retained its star cricketer for Rs 21 crore for the upcoming edition of the IPL. South Africa’s hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen has emerged as the top retention as his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) spent Rs 23 crore to retain him.

With this, Kohli is set to become the only player to play 18 seasons for a single franchise in the league’s history. As teams made their lists of retained players public before heading to the mega auction, West Indian cricketer Nicholas Pooran earned a big amount as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) retained him for Rs 21 crore. Travis Head, the explosive Australian opener, has also been retained by SRH for Rs 14 crore.

Indian rising stars made the headlines as they saw their IPL salaries skyrocket from as low as Rs 20 lakhs to as high as Rs 14 crore. Rajasthan Royals’ Dhruv Jurel, who was bought for Rs 20 lakh in 2022 has now been retained for Rs 14 crore. The young pace sensation Mayank Yadav, who was roped in for Rs 20 lakh in 2023 by LSG, has been retained for Rs 11 crore.

Rajat Patidar, who was given Rs 20 lakh in 2021 by RCB, has now been paid Rs 11 crore for his services in the upcoming edition of the IPL. Rinku Singh, who has impressed the fans with his finishing abilities, has been retained for Rs 13 crore, compared to his IPL salary of Rs 55 lakh in 2022.

Some of the highest-paid retained cricketers include Jasprit Bumrah (Rs 18 crore), Rituraj Gaikwad (Rs 18 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 18 crore), Rashid Khan (Rs 18 crore), Sanju Samson (Rs 18 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rs 18 crore), Pat Cummins (Rs 18 crore), Axar Patel (Rs 16.5 crore), Shubman Gill (Rs 16.5 crore), Rohit Sharma (Rs 16.3 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (Rs 16.35 crore), Hardik Pandya (Rs 16.35 crore).