Players don't always want to come back to underperforming franchises like RR and PBKS: Daniel Vettori ahead of IPL Auction 2022
Daniel Vettori believes that Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) were not able to retain some of their best players because the likes of Ben Stokes and KL Rahul didn't want to return to an 'underperforming' franchise.
The former New Zealand spinner's comments came in an interaction with ESPNcricinfo, a day after eight franchises confirmed their retention. RR's three retentions had iconic cricketers like Stokes and Jofra Archer missing, while PBKS couldn't get back skipper Rahul or young guns Ravi Bishnoi and Shahrukh Khan.
Daniel Vettori said RR would have wanted Stokes back, but he might have preferred going into the auction and getting a chance at a better team.
He said:
"For franchises like Rajasthan and Kings who have been underperforming and perennially out of the playoffs, players don't always want to come back. They want to explore the opportunities and potentially go to a winning franchise. So someone like Stokes could be that sort of player who may have been in Rajasthan's plans but might have wanted a fresh challenge, a new scenery and a chance to go to a team that has done well in the past."
Daniel Vettori also mentioned that for both Stokes and Archer, their fitness workload issues could have played a part as well. The 42-year-old asserted:
"That could be one scenario. The other factor is just his injury and workload concerns and that he and Archer play so much cricket, how are they going to be available for full seasons and we have seen in the past that they haven't been so I am sure that those things play a part."
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The two new franchises - Lucknow and Ahmedabad - can pick three players each before the IPL 2022 Auction. After leaving PBKS, Rahul is reportedly set to join the Lucknow-based franchise led by the Sanjeev Goenka Group.
PBKS and RR's final retentions for IPL 2022
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PBKS could only retain Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh for ₹12 crores and ₹4 crores respectively. Agarwal has been a consistent performer for the franchise as an opener and could also be looked at as the next captain.
Singh, on the other hand, is the local face who also emerged as a bowling attack leader in IPL 2021.
RR, meanwhile, is better placed after getting their skipper Sanju Samson (₹14 crores) and one of the best opening batters in the world, Jos Buttler (₹10 crores) back.
Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal also agreed to return for ₹4 crores.