Maxwell, Jofra & Tim David - among top retained players for The Hundred

The Hundred has been one of the most interesting tournaments introduced in recent times. Just as its name suggests the matches consist of hundred deliveries and was initiated by the England and Wales Cricket Board to attract the younger audience towards the fast pace league.

With the deadline day approaching on 22 February 2022, the host of the tournament has come out with the new guidelines before the start of the tournament. 

The teams have been allowed to retain any player that was part of their franchise in the last season or had to withdraw from the tournament due to travel restrictions or injury issues. The men’s team can retain upto ten members from their old squads, while the female sides have been allowed to retain up to fifteen players, which means the franchise can reassemble their entire squad from the last season.

Other than the restrictions on the number of retentions per franchise the teams can retain only up to three overseas players in their squad and are obligated to have one Test capped player in their squad which will make things a lot more interesting this year.

The players, who will not be a part of the retentions, will move to the draft pool that is dated to be conducted on 30 March this year. With the tournament announced to start from 3 August, it will be intriguing to see what new teams the franchises come up with this season.

List of retained players

London Spirits: After finishing at the bottom of the points table last season, the team will look for a fresh start this season. With the option to retain ten players, the Spirits have capitalized on the options and have picked ten players from their former squad for this season. 

Zak Crawley, Mark Wood, Glenn Maxwell, Eoin Morgan, Mason Crane, Dan Lawrence, Adam Rossington, Ravi Bopara, Blake Cullen, Brad Wheal.

Welsh Fire: The Fire did not have the season they were expecting last year as they finished at the second from the bottom last season, still the team has shown faith in their former players and has retained nine players from their squad.

Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, Jake Ball, David Payne, Leus Du Plooy, Ryan Higgins, Matt Critchley, Josh Cobb.

Manchester Originals: The Manchester-based side could not get the results they were looking for last season but will make sure that they can turn things around this season, with ten players retained from their former squad.

Jos Buttler, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Matt Parkinson, Jamie Overton, Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby, Colin Ackerman, Wayne Madson, Fred Klaasen.

Northern Super Chargers: The Super Chargers finished at the fifth spot on the points table last season and will look for better results this season, the team has retained ten players from their squad last season.

Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Faf Du Plessis, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, John Simpson, Adam Lyth, Callum Parkinson.

Oval Invincibles: The Invincibles were amongst the top four teams last season, and will be eyeing the title this season. The team has also retained ten players from their squad last season and will look to perform up to the expectations this season.

Sam Curran, Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Reece Topley, Jordan Cox, Nathan Sowther.

Trent Rockets: The Rockets finished third last season and were just inches away from the trophy last season, the team will look to finish strong in the group stages and hold the trophy this season. The team has retained ten players for this season.

Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Rashid Khan, Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Marchant De Lange, Luke Wood, Samit Patel, Matt Carter, Steven Mullaney.

Birmingham Phoenix: The Phoenix finished at the top of the table last season but lost against Southern Brave in the finals for the championship. The team has retained ten players from last season as well and will look to win the titles this season.

Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Adam Milne, Benny Howell, Tom Abell, Will Smeed, Chris Benjamin, Miles Hammond, Henry Brookes.

Southern Brave: The champions from last season will look to defend their title this season, the team finished second on the points table last season but managed to defeat the Phoenix in the finals to win the title. The team has retained ten players from their squad this season.

Jofra Archer, Marcus Stoinis, James Vince, Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan, George Garton, Alex Davies, Jake Lintott, Tim David, Craig Overton.