Chennai Super Kings now have the option of retaining skipper MS Dhoni when they make their return to the Indian Premier League in 2018. 

Returning franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals can retain or use the RTM clause to secure the players who played for them respectively in IPL 2015 and who were part of Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions squads in IPL 2017.

The decision was taken by the IPL Governing Council on Wednesday.

In another decision, an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise can retain or secure through the Right to Match (RTM) clause a combined total of five players for the 2018 edition of the Twenty20 cricket tournament.

An IPL franchise is eligible to secure up to 5 players by virtue of a combination of player retention (pre player auction) and Right to Match (during the auction), BCCI secretary Amitabh Chaudhary said in a statement.

The decision was taken during the IPL Governing Council's meeting with the Committee of Administrators (CoA) here.

The IPL Governing Council had allowed a maximum of either three retentions or three Right To Match (RTM) at the discretion of the franchises. If there is no retention before player auction then the franchises can have up to three ATM. 

A franchise can secure a maximum of three capped Indian players and a maximum of two overseas players. A franchise can secure a maximum of two uncapped Indian players.

Meanwhile, the salary cap for teams for the 2018 edition is Rs. 80 crore. It will grow by Rs 2 crore and Rs 3 crore for the next two editions respectively. 

"The minimum spend will be 75 per cent of the salary cap for each season," the statement read.