Full list of players released by the teams for IPL 2017

Another season of the Indian Premier League beckons next year, with constant permutations and combinations of players and the franchises starting to make the headlines again. With budget constraints in mind, and the need to rope in younger legs who can make an impact on the field, each of the eight teams released players for the auction to be held next year. Kings XI Punjab will enter the auctions with the biggest purse, with a total of 140 players having been retained by the eight franchises.

Here’s the list of players who have been shown the door:

Rising Pune SupergiantsBiggest omission: Kevin Pietersen

Rising Pune Supergiants seem to be looking for a complete overhaul the next season, with several big names having been shown the door. Kevin Pietersen is the biggest exclusion from the setup, having scored just over 1000 runs in 36 matches over his entire IPL career. He was selected to play for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2015, but was unavailable for the entirety of the edition.

In 2016, his participation was restricted to just four matches, where he had a high score of just 37.

Other exclusions: Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Thisara Perera, RP Singh, Scott Boland, Murugan Ashwin, Peter Handscomb, Saurabh Tiwary, Albie Morkel, George Bailey

GUJARAT LIONSBiggest omission: Dale Steyn

The South African spearhead’s career has gone downhill ever since being sidelined by injury and losing his place in the national side. Steyn’s significance in the IPL has diminished considerably over the last two seasons, having been part of just seven matches in 2015 and 2016, six of them being last year.

The injury resurfaced again this month, ruling him out of the 2017 season, which is precisely the reason why he has been let go.

Other exclusions: Paras Dogra, Eklavya Dwivedi, Sarbjeet Ladda, Pravin Tambe, Umang Sharma, Amit Mishra, Akshdeep Nath.

Kolkata Knight RidersBiggest omission: Morne Morkel

Having been a regular fixture in the IPL since 2011, the younger Morkel suddenly finds himself without an IPL team. Last year, he took ten wickets. Tall and lanky, Morkel makes the new ball skid off the surface, making it difficult for the batsman to score runs. He last played for South Africa in June 2016, in an ODI against West Indies.

Other exclusions: Brad Hogg, Jason Holder, Colin Munro, John Hastings, Jaydev Unadkat, Rajagopal Satish, Manan Sharma, Shaun Tait

Mumbai IndiansBiggest Omission: Martin Guptill

New Zealand’s limited-overs star was initially unsold before being named replacement for the injured Lendl Simmons for the ninth edition. Known for his mammoth innings of 237 in the World Cup 2015, Guptill hasn’t quite managed to set the bar high up again. He played just three games in his debut edition this year, managing just 57 runs with a high score of 48.

Other exclusions: Corey Anderson, Marchant de Lange, Unmukt Chand, Akshay Wakhare, Nathu Singh, Kishore Pramod Kamath, Jerome Taylor.

Delhi DaredevilsBiggest omission: Imran Tahir

The South African leg-spinner had a decent Test series in India last year, picking up 14 wickets from four matches. Being a leggie, he can be a real threat in India if he can get turn and bite off the surface. And, looking at the performance of leg-spinners in the IPL, it wouldn’t be surprising if he actually turns out to be a potent weapon.

The Delhi Daredevils, however, didn’t retain Tahir for the next season. His age (he’ll be 38 by the time IPL 2017 starts) might be one of the reasons why he has been shown the door, with the management looking for potentially younger options.

Other exclusions: Nathan Coulter-Nile, Joel Paris, Pawan Negi, Pawan Suyal, Akhil Herwadkar, Mahipal Lomror

Royal Challengers BangaloreBiggest omission: Chris Jordan

The ‘death-bowling’ specialist was thought to be a solution to RCB’s bowling woes this year, but his inclusion didn’t exactly turn out to be as expected. He took 11 wickets in nine matches, but couldn’t get his yorkers on the spot, leaking buckets of runs in the final overs.

Other exclusions: Abu Nechim, David Wiese, Kane Richardson, V Malik, P Dubey, Akshay Karnewar, Vikas Tokas, Parveez Rasool, Varun Aaron.

Sunrisers HyderabadBiggest omission: Trent Boult

The release from 2016 champions Sunrisers’ squad might turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Boult, who got to play just one game this year, with Mustafizur Rahman getting a chance in the majority of the matches. The menacing left arm pacer played just seven matches in the 2015 edition, picking nine wickets. Whichever team gets the services of the Kiwi pacer, will be hugely benefitted.

Other exclusions: Karn Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Eoin Morgan, Tirumalasetti Suman, Aditya Tare

Kings XI Punjab

Biggest omission: Mitchell Johnson

The menacing left arm pacer, who retired from the Australian team last year, has been left in the lurch by the Kings XI Punjab after availing his service for three seasons. The 35-year old has certainly lost some steam after international retirement, but can still pack a mean punch in the shortest format. Before being part of the Chandigarh-based franchise, Johnson won the title with the Mumbai Indians under the captaincy of Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma in 2013. He played just three matches last year, picking up a mere two wickets.

Other exclusions: Rishi Dhawan, Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien