IPL 2023 retention: "That’s not how you build teams" - Former Indian cricketer slams Punjab Kings for releasing Mayank Agarwal

Former India and Karnataka cricketer Dodda Ganesh was baffled by the Punjab Kings (PBKS)'s decision to release their former captain Mayank Agarwal ahead of the IPL 2023 auction. Mayank was named the captain of the side just last year and was retained for a whopping INR 12 crore.

He had a poor IPL 2022 season, scoring just 196 runs in 13 games, and also had to drop himself down the order to fit Jonny Bairstow at the top. The writing seemed to be on the wall when Punjab Kings announced Shikhar Dhawan as their new captain just a few days ago.

However, Dodda Ganesh cited the examples of five-time champions Mumbai Indians and four-time winners Chennai Super Kings regarding how they back their players and believe in continuity.

He took to Twitter and opined that Mayank Agarwal deserved more time at Punjab Kings for his brilliant performances in the past. Here's what he tweeted:

"Mayank had four really good seasons for Punjab. One bad season and he is been released. That’s not how you build teams. This is where MI and CSK are a class apart. The kind of rapport the two most successful franchisees build with their players, is commendable #IPLRetentions"

There are teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad who might benefit from buying Agarwal at the IPL 2023 auction. As a quality Indian player, the Karnataka batter can definitely hope to be sold for a hefty price.

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Punjab Kings retained & released players list for IPL 2023

Retained Players: Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Shikhar Dhawan, Shahrukh Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar.

Released Players: Odean Smith, Vaibhav Arora, Benny Howell, Ishan Porel, Ansh Patel, Prerak Mankad, Mayank Agarwal, Sandeep Sharma and Writtick Chatterjee.