5 Worst retentions in IPL history

2) Piyush Chawla, Kolkata Knight Riders, 2018

One of the many unsung heroes of the IPL, Piyush Chawla has been an evergreen performer in the tourney ever since he debuted in 2008. The Aligarh-born leggie has a whole bunch of accolades to his name- including the honour of being the IPL’s all-time third-highest wicket-taker.

The zenith of Piyush’s IPL journey, however, arrived in 2014, when he switched over to the Kolkata Knight Riders. PC played a major role in KKR’s victorious campaign, picking up 14 wickets and playing a vital cameo in the final against Punjab.

The following 3 seasons saw Chawla establish himself as one of KKR’s senior pros, as he formed a stifling spin-bowling partnership with Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav. His personal bowling tally read 28 wickets at an SR of 19. Stats impressive enough to warrant retention ahead of the next mega auction.

Come 2018; KKR would re-acquire Piyush via Right to Match (RTM) for INR 4.20 Crores. However, he couldn’t quite live up to the stature of the team’s senior-most spinner this time around. While he did pick up 24 wickets, his economy (8.68) and average (34.66) were far from impressive.

KKR let go of PC ahead of the 2020 IPL auction only for the Chennai Super Kings to acquire him for a whopping INR 6.75 Crores, making him the most expensive domestic buy for the season. Sadly, his performances in the last season weren’t anything to write home about, and it seems very likely that Piyush will be switching teams this year.