Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians have made wholesale changes to their squads by releasing more than ten players each ahead of the auction for the IPL 2023 season on December 23.
Knight Riders released 16 players, while Mumbai let go of 13 including veteran Kieron Pollard, and Sunrisers cut ties with 12 players including their captain Kane Williamson. Mayank Agarwal was another captain not retained as he was among the nine players let go by Punjab Kings.
While Pollard and Super Kings' Dwayne Bravo were the most high-profile West Indians not retained, there were several other younger players from the Caribbean who were released by their teams. Sunrisers let go of Nicholas Pooran and Romario Shepherd, Lucknow Super Giants released Jason Holder and Evin Lewis, Mumbai released Fabian Allen, Royal Challengers Bangalore let go of Sherfane Rutherford, Punjab released Odean Smith, and Gujarat Titans did not retain Dominic Drakes.
At the end of the deadline day - November 15 - to retain and release players, Sunrisers had the largest purse (INR 42.25 crore) for the auction on December 23, followed by Kings (INR 32.20 crore), Lucknow Super Giant (INR 23.35 crore), Mumbai (INR 20.55 crore), Super Kings (INR 20.45 crore), Delhi Capitals (INR 19.45 crore), Gujarat Titans (INR 19.25 crore), Rajasthan Royals (INR 13.2 crore), Royal Challengers Bangalore (INR 8.75 crore) and Knight Riders (INR 7.05 crore).
Wasim Jaffer and Robin Uthappa feel their squad needs the spin department strengthened
Here are how the squads stack up after the franchises released and retained players:
Mumbai Indians
After finishing at the bottom of the league in IPL 2022, Mumbai have let go of a number of players. They have retained their batting core, but will need to rebuild their bowling attack around Jasprit Bumrah, especially their spin stocks. And they will hope that Jofra Archer is fit and firing in time for IPL 2023.
Players released: Kieron Pollard (INR 6 crore), Anmolpreet Singh (INR 20 lakh), Aryan Juyal (INR 20 lakh), Basil Thampi (INR 30 lakh), Daniel Sams (INR 2.6 crore), Fabian Allen (INR 75 lakh), Jaydev Unadkat (INR 1.3 crore), Mayank Markande (INR 65 lakh), Murugan Ashwin (INR 1.6 crore), Rahul Buddhi (INR 20 lakh), Riley Meredith (INR 1 crore), Sanjay Yadav (INR 50 lakh), Tymal Mills (INR 1.5 crore)
Players acquired via trades: Jason Behrendorff
Purse remaining: INR 20.55 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 3
Current squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal
Chennai Super Kings
Super Kings finished ninth in IPL 2022 but they haven't made dramatic decisions in terms of releasing players. Bravo is the biggest name they let go of, but they had released him last year too, only to buy him back at the auction. Will they do that again next month? And after months of speculation, Super Kings have retained Ravindra Jadeja after a tumultuous 2022 season when he was appointed captain and then replaced by MS Dhoni midway through the tournament.
Players released: Dwayne Bravo (INR 4.4 crore), Robin Uthappa (INR 2 crore), Adam Milne (INR 1.9 crore), Hari Nishaanth (INR 20 lakh), Chris Jordan (INR 3.6 crore), Bhagath Varma (INR 20 lakh), KM Asif (INR 20 lakh), Narayan Jagadeesan (INR 20 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 20.45 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 2
Current squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Deepak Chahar, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana
Robin Uthappa and Wasim Jaffer believe Gujarat Titans have most bases covered
Gujarat Titans
Defending champions Titans have let go of only six players (two of whom were traded to Knight Riders) ahead of the auction, but they still have a healthy purse of INR 19.25 crore to spend. So expect them to go hard to pick up a couple of players they need to fill the gaps in their squad.
Players released: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (INR 50 lakh), Lockie Ferguson (INR 10 crore), Dominic Drakes (INR 1.1 crore), Gurkeerat Singh (INR 50 lakh), Jason Roy (INR 2 crore), Varun Aaron (INR 50 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 19.25
Overseas slots remaining - 3
Current squad: Hardik Pandya (capt), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad
Delhi Capitals
Capitals finished fifth in IPL 2022, just outside the playoffs, but they haven't made wholesale changes to their squad. Their biggest move was to trade Shardul Thakur to Knight Riders. The other players they have released weren't regulars in their first XI last season.
Players released: Shardul Thakur (INR 10.75 crore), Tim Seifert (INR 50 lakh), Ashwin Hebbar (INR 20 lakh), Srikar Bharat (INR 2 crore), Mandeep Singh (INR 1.1 crore)
Players acquired via trades: Aman Khan
Purse remaining: INR 19.45 crore
Overseas slots remaining 2
Current squad: Rishabh Pant (capt), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal
Jaffer and Uthappa on the moves made by Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the auction
Lucknow Super Giants
In their first season, Super Giants made it to the playoffs but lost the eliminator to Royal Challengers. Perhaps the biggest surprise among their list of released players is Holder, who they had bought for INR 8.75 crore. Perhaps the Super Giants are freeing up their purse to go after someone specific - Ben Stokes, Sam Curran? - at this auction.
Players released: Andrew Tye (INR 1 crore), Ankit Rajpoot (INR 50 lakh), Dushmantha Chameera (INR 2 crore), Evin Lewis (INR 2 crore), Jason Holder (INR 8.75 crore), Manish Pandey (INR 4.6 crore), Shahbaz Nadeem (INR 50 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 23.35 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: KL Rahul (capt), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi
Rajasthan Royals
Last year's runners-up Royals have let go of nine players, and among them are five overseas players who got little to no game time last season: James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Rassie van der Dussen, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Corbin Bosch.
Players released: Anunay Singh (INR 20 lakh), Corbin Bosch (INR 20 lakh), Daryl Mitchell (INR 75 lakh), James Neesham (INR 1.5 crore), Karun Nair (INR 1.4 crore), Nathan Coulter-Nile (INR 2 crore), Rassie van der Dussen (INR 1 crore), Shubham Garhwal (INR 20 lakh), Tejas Baroka (INR 20 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 13.2 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: Sanju Samson (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa
Jaffer throws a curve ball by suggesting Root as Williamson's replacement
Sunrisers Hyderabad
After starting off with two losses followed by five straight wins last season, Sunrisers crashed and burned to finish eighth in the league and it has resulted in a huge clean out at the franchise. Captain Williamson, who had been retained for INR 14 crore, has been released along with Pooran, who at INR 10.75 crore had become the most expensive West Indian ever bought at an auction. The question is - who are Sunrisers thinking of as their future captain, or are they looking to buy back Williamson at a lower price? They have the most money - INR 42.25 crore - to spend at the auction.
Players released: Kane Williamson (INR 14 crore), Nicholas Pooran (INR 10.75 crore), Jagadeesha Suchith (INR 20 lakh), Priyam Garg (INR 20 lakh), Ravikumar Samarth (INR 20 lakh), Romario Shepherd (INR 7.75 crore), Saurabh Dubey (INR 20 lakh), Sean Abbott (INR 2.4 crore), Shashank Singh (INR 20 lakh), Shreyas Gopal (INR 75 lakh), Sushant Mishra (INR 20 lakh), Vishnu Vinod (INR 50 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 42.25 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers finished fourth in the league and then lost Qualifier 2 to Royals in the playoffs. After a promising campaign, they have released the fewest players - five - among all the teams, and no one who was a regular fixture in their first XI. As a result, they have the second-lowest purse for the auction, and only two overseas slots to fill.
Players released: Jason Behrendorff (INR 75 lakh), Aneeshwar Gautam (INR 20 lakh), Chama Milind (INR 25 lakh), Luvnith Sisodia (INR 20 lakh), Sherfane Rutherford (INR 1 crore)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 8.75 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 2
Current squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep
Robin Uthappa reckons Shahrukh Khan will get more game time now that he has been retained
Punjab Kings
Following yet another season in which they failed to make the final four, Kings have rung in the changes, releasing nine players including their 2022 captain Mayank. Apart from Odean, none of their other releases were major players in their first XI last season, and Punjab go into the auction with the second-highest purse.
Players released: Mayank Agarwal (INR 14 crore), Odean Smith (INR 6 crore), Vaibhav Arora (INR 2 crore), Benny Howell (INR 40 lakh), Ishan Porel (INR 20 lakh), Ansh Patel (INR 20 lakh), Prerak Mankad (INR 20 lakh), Sandeep Sharma (INR 50 lakh), Writtick Chatterjee (INR 20 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 32.2 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 3
Current squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Shahrukh Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar
Kolkata Knight Riders
As many as 16 players have been released by Knight Riders, and after trading in Shardul, Lockie Ferguson and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, they have only 14 players in their squad and the smallest purse - INR 7.05 crore - to spend at the auction. They finished seventh last season, and need to make some smart tactical buys to bolster their bench for next season.
Players released: Pat Cummins (INR 7.25 crore), Sam Billings (INR 2 crore), Aman Khan (INR 20 lakh), Shivam Mavi (INR 7.25 crore), Mohammad Nabi (INR 1 crore), Chamika Karunaratne (INR 50 lakh), Aaron Finch (INR 1.5 crore), Alex Hales (INR 1.5 crore), Abhijeet Tomar (INR 40 lakh), Ajinkya Rahane (INR 1 crore), Ashok Sharma (INR 20 lakh), Baba Indrajith (INR 20 lakh), Pratham Singh (INR 20 lakh), Ramesh Kumar (INR 20 lakh), Rasikh Salam (INR 20 lakh), Sheldon Jackson (INR 20 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson
Purse remaining: INR 7.05 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 3
Current squad: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh