The bottom three of the Indian Premier League 2024 was an interesting mix of teams. It included Gujarat Titans, who were just introduced in 2022 and won the trophy in their first season followed by another runners-up trophy in 2023. However, the spark was missing in 2024 and performance was poor.
The ninth place team was Punjab Kings who had a change of franchise name in recent years but remained one of the least successful teams in IPL, with their last play-off appearance in 2014. There were some flashes of brilliance including the match against KKR at the Eden Gardens with the Kings completed a record chase of 262/2 with great ease. Interestingly, The bottom placed team on the contrary is arguably the most successful franchise in IPL history, Mumbai Indians. But due to multiple factors their 2024 season was derailed from the beginnings.
See Also: Top 3 possible retentions ahead of IPL 2025 auctions: CSK, DC, LSG
Gujarat Titans (GT)
One of the key differences in this year’s Titans set up was the absence of Hardik Pandya who moved back to Mumbai Indians. Shubman Gill as a new captain failed to deliver but as an opener scored more than 400 runs and should be the first name in their retention list. He will be an easy captain choice especially after he is being considered for a future leadership role for team India.
The second name in the list should be the Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan. It was a great pick for the Titans before the 2022 auction and although Rashid did not perform as expected in the IPL 2024, he showed his class in the T20 World Cup in USA and Caribbean. The third name in their retention list should be their top run-scorer in IPL 2024, Sai Sudharsan. The Southpaw is growing in stature and confidence in recent years and has delivered with 527 runs with an average of 47.90 and strike rate of 141.28.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
There were not many stand out performers for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2024. They have won just five matches and lacked any consistency. Their top retention target should be Arshdeep Singh. The young Indian left-arm seamer picked up 19 wickets this season. However, he conceded runs at expense of more than 10 runs per over. Despite that, PBKS management would like to continue with the youngster who has played only for this franchise in his IPL career.
Sam Curran was their captain for most of the 2024 season in Shikhar Dhawan’s absence and delivered with 270 runs with 16 wickets. Keeping his age and the versatility keeping in mind, it should be a good decision for the Punjab Kings management to persist with the England all-rounder.
The third choice for them would be an interesting one. After they picked up Shashank Singh during the last auction, there was a confusion as they thought that they had opted for some other Shashank Singh. Eventually, it was confirmed that this was the right player they had opted for and he provided great service for them. His aggressive batting was one of the few highlights for the Kings as he top scored with them despite batting in the middle order with 354 runs scored at a strike rate excess of 160. He proved to be a great finisher with them and won matches single-handedly and should be rewarded through retention.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Mumbai Indians generally have the strongest squad in the IPL. There were instances when they formed their playing eleven with 11 current international players. This is why making retention choices is always a tough decision for the team management. This time, they have India’s both red ball and white ball captains in Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav respectively in the squad. They have Jasprit Bumrah, undoubtedly world’s best bowler currently. They also have players like Hardik Pandya, Tilak Verma and Ishan Kishan along with overseas T20 stars like Time David.
Jasprit Bumrah will be the first name in their list of retention for sheer quality. The speedster picked up 20 wickets in the IPL 2024 before becoming the Player-of-the-Tournament in the T20 World Cup. If he would be available in the auction, his price can even shoot up to 30 Crore and Mumbai Indians management should not make the mistake of not retaining him. ‘SKY’ aka Suryakumar Yadav will be another easy retention choice for them. He is currently the number two ranked T20I batter as per ICC rankings and has been the number one for a long period of time. He can bat in the top order, a match-winner in his own right and will provide them with a captaincy option.
For the third retention option, there can be a surprise as the management may look forward and retain someone like Tilak Verma instead of Rohit and Harrdik. Rohit has already retired from International T20 and Hardik is handling many challenges on and off the field. Tilak Verma was their second highest run-scorer with 416 runs, just 1 run short of the total achieved by Rohit. His runs came with an average of 41.60 and strike rate of 149.64 and with him being a part of team India now can become a mainstay for Mumbai Indians in years to come.
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