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)
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.