Virat Kohli Becomes IPL’s Highest Paid Player Ever

Here’s a look at the players retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Virat Kohli will continue to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, as he has been retained by the team once again. AB de Villiers and Sarfaraz Khan are the other players that the RCB has decided to hold on to.

After he was retained for Rs 17 crore, Kohli became the highest paid player in IPL history. He went past Yuvraj Singh’s record of Rs 16 crore (bought by Delhi Daredevils in 2015). MS Dhoni was retained by the Chennai Super Kings for Rs 15 crore.

Since RCB decided to retain an uncapped player in Sarfaraz Khan, he is eligible to receive up to Rs 3 crore. If the third player retained by any team is a capped player, he will receive up to Rs 7 crore. The difference of Rs 4 crore was divided – Rs 2 crore has been added to Kohli’s salary and the other Rs 2 crore has been added to RCB’s remaining balance for the IPL auction later this month.

In the case of the three capped players being retained, here are the salary caps:

Virat has been a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore since the inception of the league, and is the team’s captain - on and off the field. The camaraderie and team work between Virat and AB de Villiers has been the backbone of the team for several seasons and we want to build on that. Sarfaraz is one of the players we believe will rise to great heights, not just in the IPL but in world cricket.

Amrit Thomas, Chairman - Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kohli, who has captained the RCB since the 2013 season, led Bangalore to the final of the IPL in 2016. The Delhi batsman was also the top-scorer in the 2016 season of IPL with 973 runs. Kohli has scored 4,418 runs in 149 IPL matches. He has been playing for RCB since the first season in 2008.

AB de Villiers was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1.1 million in 2011. De Villiers, who has scored 3,473 runs in his IPL career so far, has been retained for a league fee of Rs 11 crore.

Sarfaraz Khan, on the other hand, has played only 18 IPL matches in two seasons. He has scored 177 runs at an average of 29.50. The 20-year-old missed the entire 2017 season because of a leg injury. He has been retained for a league fee of Rs 1.75 crore.

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