IPL 2017: Kevin Pietersen, Dale Steyn among those released

The Rising Pune Supergiants have taken the difficult decision to release former England skipper Kevin Pietersen from their ranks for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League – IPL 2017. Another surprise comes from the Delhi Daredevils camp as they have also released their leg-spinner, Imran Tahir.

However, the massive news comes from the camp of the Gujarat Lions following the release of South African pacer Dale Steyn. The 33-year old has been on the receiving end of a few fitness concerns in recent times including a terrible shoulder injury he suffered during the second Test match at Hobart against the Australians.

The Supergiants have also gone ahead and released Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin, George Bailey, and Australian batsman Peter Handscomb. The latter was recently handed his debut for the Australia cricket team and has impressed quite massively including a century in the most recent encounter against Pakistan.

After years of experimentation, the Royal Challengers Bangalore have gone ahead and released their pacer Varun Aaron who has seemingly become surplus to their requirements in recent times. All-rounder David Wiese and pacers Chris Jordan, and Kane Richardson have also been relieved from their contracts.

The Challengers, who were finalists in the previous edition of the IPL have also made the executive decision to let go of Parvez Rasool who impressed quite a bit with the ball for the Challengers in the previous season. New Zealand duo Corey Anderson and Martin Guptill have also been relieved from their contracts from the Mumbai Indians.

Eoin Morgan and Trent Boult were the big names to make their way out of the Sunrises Hyderabad who was crowned champions of the previous season. The Kolkata Knight Riders have also been busy in their pre-auction dealings given the fact that they will be looking to recapture their previous glory.

Jason Holder, John Hastings, Brad Hogg, and Colin Munro are among the big names to be missing from the side.

Here is the list of players released: