IPL 2022 Retentions: MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli take pay cuts to help Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore

While the likes of Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma all got Rs 16 crore as the first pick of their franchises, Virat Kohli settled for Rs 15 crore although he was also first pick for RCB.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni (left) with Virat Kohli. (Photo: BCCI/IPL)

Former and current captains of the Indian team, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, respectively took major pay cuts to help bolster the salary purse of their Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises. As reported earlier, Dhoni, who won the IPL 2021 title decided not to become CSK’s first pick and gave that honour to Ravindra Jadeja to settle for a salary of Rs 12 crore as compared to the all-rounder’s Rs 16 crore.

While the likes of Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma all got Rs 16 crore as the first pick of their franchises, Kohli settled for Rs 15 crore although he was also first pick for RCB. Kohli had decided to give up RCB captaincy after IPL 2021 and now taken a pay cut of about Rs 2 crore.

RCB Player Retention Announcement: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj are retained for the Vivo IPL 2022 season. #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPLRetentions pic.twitter.com/NMKMyd24xb — Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) November 30, 2021

Under the leadership of Dhoni, CSK lifted their fourth IPL title in the 2021 edition of IPL 2021. Dhoni was expected to become Chennai’s first pick on the retention day but CSK revealed that Dhoni had opted to take a pay cut as all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been retained as Chennai's first pick for IPL 2021.

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Among other franchises, Andre Russell and Mayank Agarwal will earn Rs 12 crore from Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings respectively while Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad skippers Sanju Samson and Kane Williamson will get Rs 14 crore each.

Meanwhile, former New Zealand paceman Simon Doull believes that Dhoni will not lead CSK for the entire season of IPL 2022. “When MS Dhoni decides to play his final game, Faf du Plessis will take over the captaincy in April-May next year. That’s my thinking and I don’t think MS Dhoni will play the full season. Faf du Plessis will take over from him. But there will be a home game where they will announce it will be MSD’s last game and Faf will take over from there,” Simon Doull told Star Sports.