IPL 2022 will start on a different note with lots of changes and new happenings. 2 teams will be competing in IPL 2022 for the first time ever. BCCI selected 2 new IPL teams from Lucknow and Ahmedabad which will be joining the remaining 8 teams in the upcoming edition of IPL. Also, the IPL retention rules for IPL 2022 will be distinct from before.

The salary purse for the IPL 2022 auction has been set at INR 90 crore per team. However, an increase was made from the IPL 2021 auction purse of 85 crores. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, each of the eight older franchises will be allowed to retain up to four players. Also with the IPL governing council set different salary slabs for the number of players retained.

Read also: Every IPL team owners list

The two new franchises - Lucknow and Ahmedabad - will be allowed to acquire up to three players each from the player pool after the original eight teams have made their retention picks. The retention window for the eight older franchises is from November 1 to November 30, while the window for the two new ones is from December 1 to December 25. The IPL 2022 auction is likely to take place in January 2022.

SportzPoint gives you all details about how much will be deducted from the purse of all ten franchises for retaining one, two, three, or four players.

IPL 2022 Retention scenario for old teams :

If they retain four players (3 Indians + 1 overseas or 2 Indians + 2 overseas) :

If one of the eight older franchises retains four players, they will be debited INR 16 crore for the first, INR 12 crore for the second, INR 8 crore for the third, and INR 6 crore for the fourth. Meanwhile, that makes a total deduction of INR 42 crore. For all ten franchises, the amounts for retaining either three, two, or one player are the same.

Deduction for retaining three players (3 Indians or 2 Indians + 1 overseas) :

If one of the old franchises retains three players then their slabs are INR 15 crore, INR 11 crore, and INR 7 crore, for a total of INR 33 crore.

If they retain two players (2 Indians or 1 Indian + 1 overseas) :

For retaining two players are the slabs are INR 14 crore and INR 10 crore, for a total of INR 24 crore.

Deduction for retaining one player (1 Indian or 1 overseas) :

However, for only one player, INR 14 crore will be deducted from a franchise's auction purse. If the sole retained player is uncapped, then the amount deducted will be INR 4 crore.

Also Read: IPL retention rules: old teams can keep four players ahead of the 2022 auction, three early picks for new teams

The salary slab for retention in IPL auction :

The IPL has set out the salary slabs for retention, franchisees are free to pay players whatever sum they mutually agree on. What will be deducted from a franchise's auction purse is whichever amount is higher. If a franchisee pays a player less than his retention slab, they will lose the retention slab amount. If a franchisee pays a player more than the amount ascribed to a retention slab. Then that higher amount will be deducted from the franchise's auction purse. That applies to the two new franchises too.

For example, ahead of the mega auction in 2018, Royal Challengers Bangalore paid Virat Kohli INR 17 crore as their retention fee. However, they lost that amount from their purse. Although, the slab had been set at INR 15 crore for the first player's retention.

Read Also: Value of the IPL Franchises since 2008 to the present

Retention rules for both old and new IPL teams :

As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the eight old franchises can retain up to a maximum of three Indian players, capped or uncapped. They can't retain more than two overseas players either. Moreover, neither can they retain more than two uncapped Indian players.

The retention rules for the two new franchises are not more than two Indian players. However, it can be capped or uncapped, not more than one overseas player, and not more than one uncapped player. It is likely that the two new franchises will have a separate draft for their retentions. There is a 25-day window (1st to 25th Dec 21) for the new franchises. Although, their retentions will also involve negotiations with the players they want to pick.

Due to the increasing conflict between India and Pakistan, BCCI has postponed the IPL 2025 for a week. BCCI gave this information on Friday. The board said that it has taken this decision keeping in mind the concerns of the players and the sentiments of the fans. The new schedule of IPL will be released depending on the situation.

At the same time, according to media reports, all foreign players have been asked to return to their country. Meanwhile, Cricket Australia and South Africa Cricket Board have expressed concern over their players. There are still 12 league matches and 4 playoff matches left in IPL 2025. The final of the tournament was to be held on 25 May.

Also Read: India-Pakistan War: How Indian athletes reacted to it

It is believed that India's tour of Bangladesh in August will be cancelled. The Asia Cup to be held in September will also be postponed. The remaining matches of IPL can be held in India in their place.

It is difficult for BCCI to bring back foreign players

The biggest challenge for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in resuming the IPL in May is to bring back foreign players. As soon as the IPL was announced to be postponed for a week, most of the foreign players returned to their respective countries. The remaining players will leave India by Saturday.

It will be interesting to see how BCCI brings back the foreign players and restarts the tournament. Because without them, it will be difficult to organize matches.

Players will start playing for the country

If the IPL resumes at the end of May, most of the foreign players will be able to return. The teams believe so. If these matches are played after May 25, it will be difficult for the players to return. The biggest reason for this is that many players will be playing for their national team then.

The final of the World Test Championship (WTC) is also scheduled to be held between the Australia and the South Africa at Lord's from June 11.

Starting the tournament is not easy

BCCI has kept all three grounds ready. Despite this, officials believe that it will not be easy to restart this competition now. All the teams were informed about this on Friday without any formal announcement. People from many teams are saying that all the remaining matches can be held at the end of the year.

Punjab-Delhi match had to be canceled midway

On the night of 8 May at around 8.30 pm, Pakistan attacked the borders of Jammu, Punjab and Rajasthan of India with missiles and drones. During this time, a match was being played between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. It had to be stopped midway.

Gujarat on top, 3 teams out of the playoffs race

By the time IPL 2025 was halted midway, 57 matches of the league stage had been completed. The 58th match was halted midway. After 57 matches, Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore had the highest points in the points table with 16-16 points.

GT remained on top due to better run rate. Punjab was third, Mumbai fourth and Delhi fifth. Whereas Chennai, Rajasthan and Hyderabad teams were out of the playoff race.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma stats in Tests: Is Rohit the greatest test opener since Virender Sehwag?

Gujarat-Bengaluru have 3-3 matches left

When the tournament was stopped, 4 teams had 2-2 matches left. Whereas 6 teams including Gujarat and Bangalore had not played 3-3 matches. A match was to be played between Lucknow and Bangalore in Lucknow on Friday, but the tournament was stopped before that.

Virat Kohli has decided to retire from Test cricket. He has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about this. However, BCCI has asked him to consider his decision. Earlier on Thursday, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket through a social media post.

According to media reports, Kohli has decided to retire and has told the board that he is saying goodbye to Test cricket. BCCI asked him to think again as an important tour of England is coming up. At present, he has not responded to BCCI's statement.

Also Read: Fav four in cricket: Kohli vs Root vs Williamson vs Smith overall stats

Let's take a look at the performance of Virat Kohli in Tests.

Scored less than 25 average in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Virat's performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was not good. He scored runs at an average of 23.75 in this series. He got out on a ball outside the off stump 7 times out of 8. In BGT, Kohli scored 190 runs in 9 innings including an unbeaten century.

In the last 5 years, he scored only 3 centuries in 37 Tests and his average was below 35. Earlier, Kohli had retired from T20I cricket, but he was in tremendous form in IPL 2025. He has scored 505 runs in 11 matches so far.

Kohli's performance in BGT 2024-2025

Virat Kohli in Tests | Career so Far

36-year-old Kohli has scored 9,230 runs in 123 Tests so far. He has also scored 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries in his innings.

Kohli scored most centuries against Australia

Virat Kohli has scored 30 centuries in his Test career. Out of these, he has scored the most number of centuries i.e. 9 against Australia. Whereas he has scored the least number of centuries i.e. 2 against Bangladesh.

Kohli scored most centuries in his Test career in Indian soil

Kohli has scored 30 centuries in Tests. Out of these, he has scored the most 14 centuries in India. He has scored only one century in New Zealand.

Kohli was better captain than Rohit and Dhoni in Tests

Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are the captains who have won ICC trophies for India. On the other hand, there is Virat Kohli. He has never been able to win an ICC tournament as a captain. However, when it comes to Test cricket, as a leader he seems miles ahead of both Dhoni and Rohit.

Under Rohit's captaincy, Team India even had to face a clean sweep from New Zealand. This never happened under Kohli's captaincy. He captained Team India in 11 Test series on Indian soil. India won all the 11 series.

Kohli captained for the first time on home ground against South Africa in 2015. With the support of Ashwin and Jadeja and Kohli's attacking field strategy, India won the 4 Test series 3-0. From here onwards, the team won all the Test series at home under Kohli's captaincy.

Kohli's captaincy in Tests (Home Tests)

Kohli's captaincy in Tests (Away Tests)

Also Read: Most successful Test captains from India

Scored 7 double centuries as captain

Batsman Virat Kohli gave his best performance under the presence of every captain, but when he himself became the captain, he turned all the shortcomings of Test batting into achievements. Kohli scored a record 7 double centuries under his own captaincy.

Kohli could not do much with the bat during the 2014 tour of England, but in 2018 he turned it around and became the top run scorer of the series. He scores runs every time in Australia, and he also scored a century in South Africa, which proved why ICC named him the best cricketer of the decade in 2020.

If anyone has followed cricket casually over the last decade, they're likely familiar with four key names: former Indian captain Virat Kohli, batting genius Steve Smith, English great Joe Root, and New Zealand's all-time leading run-scorer Kane Williamson.

They together are known as the 'Fab Four' in the modern era of cricket.

Each of them has set new benchmarks for performance, continually pushing one another to enhance their skills. These four batsmen have not only dominated the world of cricket but have also met the expectations of their respective nations.

In this article, we will examine the statistics of the Fab Four across all formats.

Fav Four in cricket: How many runs & centuries have they scored in International Cricket?

Virat Kohli has been the most prolific all-format batter among the fav-four. Kohli, till now in his 550 international games, has scored 27,599 runs with an outstanding average of 52.27. His record of 82 international centuries is only second to Sachin Tendulkar's 100 international centuries.

Read Also | Most ICC Trophies by any men's team

Joe Root comes in second among them with 20,724 runs so far for England across formats. However, undoubtedly, he has been the best test batter of his generation with 12972 test runs, which sets him as the highest test run scorer for England. Root has also scored 53 international hundreds, of which 36 came in tests only.

Read Also | Winners list of last 10 ICC Tournaments (men's)

Kane Williamson, New Zealand's highest runscorer in international cricket, comes at number three in terms of international runs among the fav four. The former Kiwi leader has scored 19,086 runs so far in his career at an average of 48.56. Kane is now only two short of reaching 50 international hundreds. 

Read Also | Most Test runs in 2024: Root, Jaiswal, Duckett and more

Aussie great Steven Smith comes at four with 17,165 runs at an average of 47.81. A late bloomer with the bat, Smith has been outstanding for Australia in tests and ODIs. Along with Root, Smith has also been one of the greatest test batters of this generation.

Here is a comparison of international stats of the fav four. 

Read Also: Most Wickets in Test Cricket

Fab Four in Cricket: Stats across different formats

Virat Kohli (IND)

Joe Root (ENG)

Kane Williamson (NZ)

Steven Smith (AUS)

Note: The article was initially written by Abishek Goswami and then got updated by Koushik Biswas

The journey of successful Indian captains have been remarkable over the years. The nation has got exceptional leaders who shaped the landscape of Test cricket for India. 

It is now time to look back at those victories brought to us by the Indian team under such efficient captains. Here are the most successful Test captains from India.

1. Virat Kohli (40 wins)

Virat Kohli is considered to be the most successful Test captain India could ever get! He had a stellar career as a captain from 2014 to 2022. Under his captaincy, India became aggressively dominant in home and held a streak of never losing or drawing a single home series.

Kohli secured 40 wins out of 68 tests, which is the highest as an Indian captain. He also holds the record for most double centuries by an Indian in Test cricket, with a total of 7 double centuries.

India has had several quality test batters, but there is no other captain who could match King Kohli's legacy.

Virat Kohli's test stats as captain:

Read Also: Virat Kohli became the Test captain on this very day; a look at Kohli's legacy as Test captain

2. MS Dhoni (27 wins)

MS Dhoni served as a Test captain for six years for India, and had a stellar career. He holds the record for most number of sixes by an Indian captain, which is 51 in number.

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won 27 tests out of 60, having a win percentage of 45%.

Dhoni's test stats as captain:

3. Sourav Ganguly (21 wins)

Sourav Ganguly, who is widely known for his contributions as a player and captain for the Indian team, is a prominent name in this list of most successful Test captains from India.

Dada was the Indian test captain from 2000-2005 and won 21 tests out of 49 played. He also holds the 2nd position for record most wins as a test captain overseas, winning 11 out of 28 matches.

Sourav Ganguly's test stats as captain:

Read Also: Most Runs for India in Pink Ball Test

4. Mohammad Azharuddin (14 wins)

Mohammad Azharuddin is another big name to be mentioned when it comes to Test cricket captaincy for India. He served as a captain for 9 years, winning 14 matches out of 47.

Azharuddin mostly enjoyed dominating in home soil and sealing crucial victories for the team. 

Mohammad Azharuddin's test stats as captain:

5. Rohit Sharma (12 wins)

Rohit Sharma is another name for one of the most successful Test captains from India who led to 10+ victories for the team. He is the 5th captain to do so. He was also one of the most impactful opener for India in tests.

Even though Rohit's captaincy tenure was short-lived, as he decided to retire from test format on 7th May, 2025, he still managed to be on top with 12 wins in 24 matches.

Read Also: Rohit Sharma stats in Tests: Is Rohit the greatest test opener since Virender Sehwag?

Rohit Sharma'r test stats as captain 

The rising star of RCB, Devdutt Padikkal, is ruled out of IPL 2025 following injury issues, leaving a void in the team. As a result, Mayank Agarwal has been brought in as his replacement for the rest of the tournament.

Find out more about Devdutt Padikkal's injury and what Agarwal brings to the team.

Devdutt Padikkal in IPL 2025

Devdutt Padikkal had an amazing season in IPL 2025 with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru so far. He played in 10 matches for RCB this season and was pretty impactful as a no. 3 batter for the team. 

Padikkal's strike rate of 150.61 this season was the highest of his IPL career. He scored a total of 247 runs in 10 matches, with 2 back-to-back half centuries.

We witnessed some spectacular rhythm of partnership between Padikkal and Virat Kohli, and their perfect sync of running between the wickets.

Read Also: Best Celebrations of IPL 2025 so far: From Abhishek's papercut to Hasaranga's Pushpa move

Padikkal's 2025 IPL scores:

• vs KKR: 10 (10 balls)
• vs CSK: 27 (14 balls)
• vs GT: 4 (3 balls)
• vs MI: 37 (22 balls)
• vs DC: 1 (8 balls)
• vs RR: 40* (28 balls)
• vs PBKS: 61 (35 balls)
• vs RR: 50 (27 balls)
• vs DC: 0 (2 balls)
• vs CSK: 17 (15 balls)

How does Padikkal's injury affect RCB?

Devdutt Padikkal's sudden hamstring injury brings a new challenge for RCB as they might need some time to make proper adjustments in the playing XI. As Padikkal had already established his presence as a number 3 batter, the team may have to try out new combinations to find a solid pace in their batting order.

RCB has already identified a suitable player for this role, but seeing how it goes for the team as the playoffs are approaching will be a challenging thing to witness.

Mayank Agarwal returns to RCB after 12 years 

The Bengaluru born batsman, Mayank Agarwal, who started his IPL career with the franchise in 2011, made comeback after 12 years. This homecoming is a special one for the team as Mayank has significant IPL experience, having scored 2661 runs in 127 matches so far. 

Mayank is likely to play his comeback match with the RCB in the upcoming match against Lucknow Super Giants on 9th May, 2025.

Read Also: A sinking tale of playoffs: Can LSG make it to the top 4 in IPL 2025?

Mayank's IPL career (2011-2024)

• Matches played: 124
• Runs: 2661
• Highest score: 106
• Avg: 22.74
• SR: 133.05
• Centuries: 1
• Half-century: 13
• 4s: 263
• 6s: 98