5 players released ahead of IPL Auction 2022 who will make for great captaincy options
The eight existing franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL), on Tuesday (November 30), announced the names of the players they have decided to retain ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.
The two most successful IPL franchises - Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) - retained four players each, as did Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
However, not all teams went on to fill the maximum slots permitted for retention. The Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) retained three players each. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) decided to keep the least number of players - two.
A total of 27 players were retained by the eight existing franchises ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. The two new franchises - Ahmedabad and Lucknow - will get to pick a maximum of three players before the mega auction.
IPL 2022: Will these released players be picked as captains?
A number of big names have been released by their respective franchises ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. Among them, a few are potential captaincy candidates. We take a look at five such players.
#1 David Warner
Before things went wrong between David Warner and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the Aussie was the face of the franchise, both as captain and star batter. Warner is not a great tactician, but he inspired the team to victory in a number of matches in the IPL with his batting brilliance.
Warner led from the front and amassed 848 runs at a strike rate of 150 as SRH lifted their maiden and only IPL crown to date in 2016. The left-hander top-scored for the Sunrisers with 69 off 38 in the final against RCB.
In subsequent IPL editions, he scored 641 (2017), 692 (2019) and 548 (2020) runs. [He did not play in IPL 2018 due to the ball-tampering ban].
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It all fell apart for Warner in IPL 2021 as he was sacked as captain midway through SRH’s campaign. He only represented the franchise in eight matches in which he scored 195 runs and had a poor strike rate of 107.73.
Under pressure, Warner shut all his critics by claiming the Player of the Tournament award in Australia’s T20 World Cup 2021 title triumph. Franchises would be keen to have him as captain, for sure, given his proven track record.
#2 Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer was recently in the news for becoming the first Indian batter to score a hundred and fifty on his Test debut. Before that, he was also renowned as the skipper who revived the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) fortunes in the IPL.
Under Iyer, DC reached their first playoffs in seven years during the IPL 2019 edition. They bowed out in Qualifier 2, going down to eventual runners-up CSK. In IPL 2020, Delhi created history under Iyer, when they reached the final of the tournament for the first time ever. Unfortunately for DC and Iyer, the franchise floundered against MI.
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Heading into IPL 2021, DC had high hopes from Iyer leading the side well once again. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury ruled him out of the first half of the edition.
Even though he returned for the UAE leg, the DC management decided to continue with Rishabh Pant as captain. However, during his stint as leader, Iyer proved to be a shrewd and composed operator.