Some of the biggest names in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have been released by their respective franchises on Friday, the deadline for franchises to extend player contracts. Chris Lynn, David Miller, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuvraj Singh and Chris Morris were among the 71 players released ahead of next month's IPL auction. (More Cricket News)
A total of 127 players have been retained including 35 foreigners. Kings XI Punjab (INR 42.70 cr) now have the highest salary cap available going into the auction while Royal Challengers Bangalore (12) have the most number of player slots available (including six overseas slots). After today’s deadline, Chennai Super Kings (20) have the largest squad size.
Here’s a look at how the franchises stack up:
Franchise |
Players
Overseas
Spent Money*
Available Money*
Available Slots
Overseas Slots
CSK
20
6
70.40 cr
14.60 cr
5
2
DC
14
3
57.15 cr
27.85 cr
11
5
KXIP
16
4
42.30 cr
42.70 cr
9
4
KKR
14
4
49.35 cr
35.65 cr
11
4
MI
18
6
71.95 cr
13.05 cr
7
2
RR
14
4
56.10 cr
28.90 cr
11
4
RCB
13
2
57.10 cr
27.90 cr
12
6
SRH
18
6
68.00 cr
17.00 cr
7
2
Total
127
35
472.35 cr
207.65 cr
73
29
*Money in INR
Full list of released and retained players by franchises:
1. Chennai Super Kings
Three-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings have released England cricketers Sam Billings and David Willey besides three Indian players including 2015 World Cupper Mohit Sharma. With 20 players already in their squad, CSK go into the auction with a meagre purse of Rs 14.60 crore.
Released (5): Mohit Sharma, Sam Billings, David Willey, Dhruv Shorey and Chaitanya Bishnoi.
Retained: Ambati Rayudu , KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Jagadeesan Narayan, Karn Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Monu Singh, MS Dhoni, M Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shane Watson, Shardul Thakur, Suresh Raina.
Also Read: All You Need To Know About Players' Auction
2. Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals, who had traded in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane from KXIP and Rajasthan Royals respectively, have retained young Prithvi Shaw whose doping ban ends on Friday. There was speculation over Shaw being traded to the Royals. The Delhi franchise has released nine players including two South Africans, all-rounder Morris and power-hitter Colin Ingram. New Zealand top-order batsman Colin Munro has also been released and so has been India's Test specialist Hanuma Vihari.
Released (5): Chris Morris, Colin Ingram, Hanuma Vihari, Ankush Bains and Colin Munro.
Retained: Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Sandeep Lamichhane, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer.
3. Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab go into the auction on December 19 with a purse of Rs 42.70 crore, the biggest among the eight teams after they released eight players including South Africa's Miller, Englishman Sam Curran and mystery Tamil Nadu spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who was bought for a whopping Rs 8.4 crore last year. Miller went on to become one of the batting mainstays for Kings XI Punjab over the past eight seasons, scoring 1850 runs in 79 games at a strike rate of 138.78.
Released (4): David Miller, Andrew Tye, Sam Curran and Varun Chakravarthy.
Retained: Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Darshan Nalkande, K Gowtham, Hardus Viljoen, Harpreet Brar, Jagadeesha Suchith, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahman, M Ashwin, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan.
4. Kolkata Knight Riders
Lynn, the big-hitting Australian opener, was released by Kolkata Knight Riders after five fruitful seasons when he got the team off to a flying start on umpteen occasions. The other 10 released KKR players include West Indian Carlos Brathwaite, South African Anrich Nortje, former India players Piyush Chawla and Robin Uthappa, who struggled to get going last season.
Released (10): Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Piyush Chawla, Joe Denly, Yarra Prithviraj, Nikhil Naik, KC Cariappa, Matthew Kelly, Shrikant Mundhe and Carlos Brathwaite.
Retained: Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine
5. Mumbai Indians
Defending champions Mumbai Indians have retained 18 players including veteran Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga despite his fitness issues while releasing 12. Among the released players are Australian fast bowler Jason Behrendorff and Alzarri Joseph of West Indies, New Zealand's Adam Milne, Beuran Hendricks and Ben Cutting. Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who quit all forms of cricket including IPL earlier this year, has also been released. Kiwi seamer Trent Boult, West Indian Sherfane Rutherford and Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni are the three trade-ins for the franchise.
Released (7): Yuvraj Singh, Evin Lewis, Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff, Barinder Sran, Ben Cutting and Pankaj Jaiswal.
Retained: Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McCleneghan, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Rohit Sharma, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult.
6. Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals have released 11 players including pacer Jaydev Unadkat, whom they had bought back for Rs 8.4 crore last year after paying Rs 11.5 crore for him in the previous season. The franchise also announced that star Australian batsman Steve Smith will continue to lead the team.
Released (11): Ashton Turner, Oshane Thomas, Shubham Ranjane, Prashant Chopra, Ish Sodhi, Aryaman Birla, Jaydev Unadkat, Rahul Tripathi, Stuart Binny, Liam Livingstone, Sudheshan Midhun.
Retained: Ankit Rajpoot, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Steven Smith, Varun Aaron.
7. Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore have let go of their 12 players including seven foreigners. The big names released are South African pacer Dale Steyn, New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, Australian Marcus Stoinis and West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer. They roughly have Rs 28 crore to work with at the auction.
Released (11): Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetymer, Akshdeep Nath, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin De Grandhomme, Prayas Ray Barman, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Himmat Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Milind Kumaran and Dale Steyn (who was a mid-season replacement).
Retained: Ankit Rajpoot, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Steven Smith, Varun Aaron.
8. SunRisers Hyderabad
SunRisers Hyderabad have released the least number of players -- five -- and they include Shakib Al Hasan, who has been banned by the ICC, New Zealand opener Martin Guptill, Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan.
Released (5): Shakib Al Hasan (suspended from cricket), Deepak Hooda, Martin Guptill, Ricky Bhui and Yusuf Pathan.
Retained: Abhishek Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Billy Stanlake, David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha.