IPL 2020: 3 teams who released most players ahead of the auction

Player retention for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League came to an end as all franchises submitted the list of players retained ahead of the IPL auction next month. Most of the teams retained a settled core of players, while a few franchises released a majority of their players, eyeing to build a new core with maximum purchase at the IPL auction next month.

The two teams which struggled to get going last season, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals, who were even languishing at the bottom of the points table, released most of their players.

The Kohli-led franchise retained only two of their overseas players as they aim to build a new side at the auction this year. Even Rajasthan didn’t hold back in releasing a bulk of their under-utilised players, as they ended up retaining the overseas core of their top performers.

Here’s a look at three teams who released most players ahead of the auction:

---

#3 Mumbai Indians (12)

Mumbai Indians were crowned champions for the fourth time in the IPL history in 2019.

Despite a successful campign last year, the Mumbai Indians let go of 12 players including three who were traded. The defending champions are usually known to carry a big bunch of players along with a healthy support staff. However, despite releasing nearly half of their squad, they retained their playing XI.

Most of the released players were the back-ups to the players who were regulars in the first XI. They retained the likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard, who tend to form the majority of their playing XI in most of the matches.

With an eye on the grand auction in 2021, as far as retention goes, MI might want to focus on players who are in good form and are known for their prowess in the T20 format. This will also come in handy for them ahead of the next auction as they will then have a host of choices to retain their best players ahead of the IPL 2021 auction.

Players released: Yuvraj Singh, Mayank Markande, Barinder Sran, Rasikh Salam, Pankaj Jaswal, Siddhesh Lad, Evin Lewis, Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff, Beuran Hendricks, Ben Cutting, Alzarri Joseph.

#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore (12)

Royal Challengers Bangalore have been perennial under-achievers in the IPL.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have been the perennial under-achievers in the Indian Premier League. In all these years, RCB has often been criticised for not winning the IPL trophy even once despite having some of the best players in the world feature in their ranks, year after year.

IPL 2019 was no different as RCB finished at the bottom of the points table with only five wins in 14 matches. In order to correct their dismal show from the last year, the Bangalore-based franchise released 12 players from their squad last year.

Most of those releases were on the expected lines but some defied reasoning and took most of their fans by surprise. Marcus Stoinis - the exuberant all-rounder, Dale Steyn – the mercurial fast bowler and many others were shown the way out ahead of the auction.

The franchise’s decision to release players supports their call to develop a better team for the upcoming season. However, the history of RCB isn’t too promising, whether it is their on-field play or their recruits at the auction table.

Players released: Akshdeep Nath, Himmat Singh, Prayas Ray Barman, Kulwant Khejroliya, Milind Kumar, Heinrich Klaasen, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Dale Steyn.

#1 Rajasthan Royals (14)

Rajasthan Royals have released the most players ahead of the auction.

The story wasn’t too pleasant for the Rajasthan Royals with regards to their IPL campaign in 2019. The Jaipur-based franchise suffered humiliation to claim the penultimate spot in the points table with only five wins from 14 games. After finishing fourth in IPL 2018, the Royals’ never seemed to get their mojo right in the entire league.

They were badly hurt with some of their key players missing the final few weeks, which even prevented their chances to do well in the dying stages of the season. As a result, the ‘Men in Pink’, released 14 players from their squad last year ahead of the auction in Kolkata.

They gave up on some young Indian players including their most expensive buy-in IPL 2019 in the form of Jaydev Unadkat. However, it was baffling to see them trade their skipper Ajinkya Rahane and all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham ahead of the new season.

With an available pool of players at the mini-auction, RR can eye a maximum of 11 players including four overseas spots.

Players released: Ashton Turner, Oshane Thomas, Shubham Ranjane, Prashant Chopra, Ish Sodhi, Aryaman Birla, Jaydev Unadkat, Rahul Tripathi, Stuart Binny, Liam Livingstone, Sudheshan Midhun. Ajinkya Rahane, K Gowtham, Dhawal Kulkarni.