5 most expensive players released by IPL franchises ahead of 2024 auction ft. Shardul Thakur 

All the 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises released their retention list as the deadline was set for November 26. With the IPL 2024 auction scheduled to take place on December 19 in Dubai, franchises are fervently strategizing to solidify their teams.

While most of the retentions were on expected lines, a few raised eyebrows. However, the main drama was generated by the saga between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Hardik Pandya. After reports suggested that a trade deal between Mumbai and Gujarat Titans (GT) have been put in place for Pandya, GT retained their title-winning skipper.

However, on November 27, the two teams put all the stories to bed and confirmed that Pandya has officially joined his former franchise MI in an all-cash deal of ₹15 crore. Additionally, Mumbai created the funds by trading off Cameron Green to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a fee of ₹17.50 crore.

While these proved to be the two biggest trade deals in IPL history, other franchises also made some calls to let go of some high-profile players as well. Players with high monetary value attached to them are often at risk of getting released by the franchises if the management feels that budget could be allocated in a better way elsewhere.

On that very note, let's take a look at five of the most expensive players that were released by IPL franchises ahead of the 2024 auction.

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#1 Ben Stokes - ₹16.25 crore (CSK)

When Chennai Super Kings (CSK) broke their bank to acquire the services of Ben Stokes at the IPL 2023 auction, it was a huge moment of elation for the Chennai fans. CSK splashed ₹16.25 crore for Stokes, who became the most expensive player in CSK's history.

Unfortunately for him and the franchise, Stokes could only play a couple of games due to his knee injury and returned with underwhelming scores of eight and seven.

Following a forgettable ODI World Cup 2023 with England, Stokes announced that he won't be available for the IPL 2024 and will miss the tournament due to workload management.

CSK's pricey game at the 2023 auction didn't pay off, as his low returns and history of being injury-prone ultimately led the franchise to release him. At ₹16.25 crore, Stokes became the most expensive player to get released ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.

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#2 Harry Brook - ₹13.25 crore (SRH)

Harry Brook for Sunrisers Hyderabad [Getty Images]

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will go into the IPL 2024 auction having the second-biggest purse (₹34 crore) among all 10 franchises. The Orange Army hoisted up a large chunk of their purse by releasing Harry Brook.

The talented English batter joined SRH for a hefty fee of ₹13.25 crore. The 24-year-old had a forgettable maiden IPL campaign as SRH finished last on the table. Brook himself managed to pile up just 190 runs at an average of 21.11 across 11 innings for the Orange Army.

Even after releasing Brook, SRH still have three world-class overseas middle-order batters in Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and Glenn Phillips.

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#3 Wanindu Hasaranga - ₹10.75 crore (RCB)

Wanindu Hasaranga celebrating a wicket for RCB [Getty Images]

It came as a huge shock when Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) released most of their bowling options, including star players Wanindu Hasaranga and Josh Hazlewood.

Hasaranga, in particular, was snapped up by the franchise for ₹10.75 as their replacement for Yuzvendra Chahal at the IPL 2022 auction. Hasaranga had a remarkable IPL 2022 after he ended up as the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 26 wickets.

Next season, however, he got to play eight games in which he bagged nine wickets. Although his economy rate of 8.90 was on the higher side, Hasaranga is considered one of the best spinners in T20 cricket currently.

With RCB releasing Hasaranga, they are now only left with 36-year-old Karn Sharma as the team's only frontline spinner.

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#4 Shardul Thakur - ₹10.75 crore (KKR)

The first Indian on the list, Shardul Thakur, was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on retention day. The two-time IPL winners traded in Thakur from the Delhi Capitals (DC) for a huge sum of ₹10.75 crore ahead of the IPL 2023 season.

However, Thakur failed to impress in his only season with KKR, as the bowling all-rounder made 113 runs and took just seven wickets at a poor economy of 10.78 across 11 matches.

While an international Indian seam-bowling all-rounder is a rare commodity in the IPL, KKR thought it would be ideal to move on from Thakur and add ₹10.75 crore to their purse.

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#5 Harshal Patel - ₹10.75 crore (RCB)

Harshal Patel for RCB [Getty Images]

Another player released by RCB was Harshal Patel. Harshal came as a revelation for the franchise after he took 32 wickets at the IPL 2021. Next year, he claimed 19 more wickets due to his guile and effectiveness.

However, none of those games came in Bengaluru. At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Harshal has fared Inadequately.

Across 23 matches at the venue, he has taken 20 wickets at a substandard economy rate of 9.30.

This might one of the major reasons why RCB broke their association with Harshal, who was also on a huge ₹10.75 crore deal.