Another reason to celebrate: Virat Kohli now highest paid player in IPL ever

Virat Kohli is on a high these days. After his lavish wedding to Anushka Sharma, the Team India skipper has one more reason to celebrate- he is now the highest paid player in the Indian Premier League. 

Virat was retained by his side Royal Challengers Banglore for the upcoming IPL season- for a whooping Rs 17 crore. Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni were next with price tags of Rs 15 crore each. 

The eight IPL franchise presented the list of players retained ahead of the upcoming mega auction on Thursday. The player auction for the eleventh edition of the IPL is on January 27 and 28.

Every team has been given a salary cap of 80 crore for the season. Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils were the biggest spenders taking a cut of 33 crore on the salary cap. Royal Challengers Banglore, despite giving Kohli 2 crore more than the limit set by IPL, spent 31 crore from their salary cap.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which are back into action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after having faced a two-year ban, have retained key player MS Dhoni for the 11th edition of the league. Dhoni was the first player to be retained for CSK, followed by  Suresh Raina (Rs 11 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 7 crore). 

Rajasthan Royals, also making a return after serving the ban following the IPL fixing scandal, have retained Australian batsman Steven Smith for Rs 12.5 crore.

Other than Virat Kohli, RCB retained AB de Villers (11 crore) and uncapped player Sarfaraz Khan (1.75 crore).

Meanwhile Rohit Sharma (15 crore), Hardik Pandya (11 crore) and Jasprit Bumrah (7 crore) have been retained by Mumbai Indians.

Following are the players retained by each franchise using the Player Retention option:

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