IPL 2019: One Player From Each Team Who Should Not Have Been Released - Part 1
While the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League, which is due to take place in 2019, may not be around the corner, the franchises have already announced their pre-auction squads and released a number of players.
The most common reasons for these players to be released are lack of performance in IPL 2018 and unavailability for a significant portion of IPL 2019 due to international commitments and the ICC Cricket World Cup.
However, even though there were legitimate reasons for franchises to make certain releases, others seem to have less sound reasoning behind them and some of these may even some inexplicable to fans. This slideshow looks at one player from each franchise that could have potentially added immense value to the squad and seemingly did not deserve to be released.
Note: Part 1 of this Article Series covers the following teams: Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, and Rajasthan Royals. The remaining four teams will be covered in Part 2 of the series.
Mumbai Indians - Akila Dananjaya
While it is true that Akila Dananjaya, the 'mystery spinner' from Sri Lanka, played a solitary game for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 and went wicketless in that game, he has had a stellar year with performances across formats, and there is much indication that, if given the right opportunities, he can be a star in the Indian Premier League.
Given that the only other choices for first choice spinners in the Mumbai Indians' squad are the inexperienced Mayank Markande - who, despite performing well last season, tapered off after the first few games - and completely untested Rahul Chahar, Akila Dananjaya's presence as a world-class mystery spinner could have been instrumental.
Even though his services were not required this year largely due to the Mayank Markande's heroics, having an assured and reliable international spinner like him in the squad would have been immense for the Mumbai Indians' depth.