IPL 2020: 3 surprising player retentions before the auction 

The 13th of the Indian Premier League is edging closer with only four months left for the cricket extravaganza to return to the country's best stadiums. As the countdown begins for the tournament, each franchise is preparing to build the best possible team to help them achieve glory. With the auction scheduled on 19th December 2019, teams were required to submit the list of released players on November 15. Even the transfer window which saw some big names like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajiyanka Rahane, and Trent Boult traded ended on the same day.

After weeks of speculation, the list of players who will continue to play for the same franchise as last season is confirmed as well those who will need to enter the auction pool to find a new team.

The release of players like Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, David Miller among many has caught the headlines. Here we take a look at a few players who have surprisingly been retained by their franchise and contrary to expectation will not need to enter the auction.

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#3 Mohammed Siraj- RCB

Is Siraj (L) good enough for RCB's title ambitions?

One of IPL's most surprising facts to day remains that the Royal Challengers Bangalore has not won a single title so far. Despite having the likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers in their roaster, the franchise is yet to lift the trophy. One of the biggest reasons behind their underperformances is attributed to having a lacklustre bowling attack.

Over the last few years, one of their biggest letdowns in the bowling attack has been Mohammed Siraj. The right-arm pacer from Hyderabad has been regarded as one of India's brightest emerging fast bowlers. He has shown his talents in the longer formats with an extremely impressive First Class record of 125 wickets in 29 matches at an average of 21.33.

However, he hasn't shown the same potential on the big stage in the shorter formats. The 25-year-old has been at RCB for three years and has flattered to deceive in the time. He has featured in 26 games and only 28 wickets at a very high economy rate of 9.20. In fact, with time, his performances have only got worse with last season being his worst in the Red and Gold shirt. He only took seven wickets in nine games and his economy rate was a very expensive 9.55 rpo.

Despite the consistent backing from the club, Siraj has not proved himself a reliable bowler at all for Virat Kohli. With Navdeep Saini emerging as a dependent front-line pacer and the presence of Umesh Yadav, one would probably feel they are well-decked when it comes to Indian pacers.

In addition to the fact that Siraj was bought for ₹2.8 crore, letting him go and investing on another player or trying to buy him for a cheaper price would have been a wise idea.

#2 Kamlesh Nagarkoti

Is KKR correct in gambling on Kamlesh Nagarkoti's fitness?

India's victory in the 2018 U19 World Cup with Rahul Dravid as the coach was an eye-catching effort by the upcoming crop of Indian cricketers. Not only did India lift the trophy but the Men in Blue comprehensively dominated every opponent they came across. Some individual talents like Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill stole the headlines. However, pacers Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi caught a lot of attention as they were regularly seen hitting the 140km/hr mark.

Kolkata Knight Riders snapped both of them along with Gill that same year. However, fate hasn't been so kind to Nagarkoti since the tournament. The youngster has faced a barrage of injuries and did not play in either the 2018 and 2019 edition of the tournament. Infact, he is yet to make his debut for KKR or play a single IPL match despite being purchased at the auction two years ago.

Such has been the brutality of his injury problems that Nagarkoti is yet to play any form of domestic cricket since February 2018. With him being a ₹3.2 crore buy, he is a huge investment by the two-time champions. With no clarity on fitness and availability on his availably for the next edition, one might have expected the franchise to release him and use that money at the auction. However, the Knight Riders have decided to show patience and back the player to come good. While it is an admirable thing to do and in line with the "culture teams" like Mumbai Indians, and Chennai Super Kings have set, one does wonder if for all his talent, can KKR afford to continue taking a risk on Nagarkoti's fitness.

#1 Kedar Jadhav

Does Kedar Jadhav bring value to CSK?

Post their comeback from a two-year suspension, the Chennai Super Kings opted for an interesting strategy of picking an extremely experienced but aging team. Most of those players were considered past their prime and questions were raised if they are a fit enough team for the T20 format. However, they have answered critics on the field by winning the title in 2018 and being runners-up in 2019.

One of the veteran players Super Kings trusted in has been Kedar Jadhav. The 34-year-old has been a late bloomer and become an important utility player for India's ODI team over the last few years. However, he has failed to produce the goods for the Yellow Army. In 2018, after a heroic effort in the first match against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede, he was unable to play again in their title-winning season due to an injury. In 2019, despite being trusted as the number four, Jadhav only managed to score 162 runs in 14 games. Despite his unique action causing problems at the international level, MS Dhoni did not trust him with a single over last season.

In fact, Jadhav's overall record in the Indian Premier League does not make for good reading. Despite playing in the competition since 2010 and having featured in 79 matches for three different teams, he only has 1079 runs to his name at a below-par average of 22.95. His career strike rate of 126.49 in the league does not inspire much confidence.

With age not being on his side and him being a liability on the field, one is bound to wonder how much value he brings to the side. Adding this to his constant struggles with fitness, something that only made him miss the entire 2018 edition but also ruled him out of the playoffs in 2019, it's worth questioning whether CSK really needs him. With a whooping value of ₹7.8 crores, it is hard to not feel that money could have been used for a better player at the auction.