IPL 2019: Five wrong releases made by teams

The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just about beginning to announce itself to the fans as all the teams have announced the set of players they have retained and released. Apart from Chennai Super Kings (3 released) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (6 released), all the teams have let go 8 or more players and are looking to partially rebuild their side. The auction that will take place in December will be a lot bigger than what many might imagine as there are many threats looming around to make the tournament less entertaining. The two major factors are the Lok Sabha elections and the ICC World Cup which will happen next year. A lot of cricketers will be pushing themselves away from the tournament in May to prepare for the World Cup, which means the auction strategy will be very different for all teams. A few teams though, have started off on a poor note on that front by releasing some players who possess great quality. Here are five wrong releases made by the franchises: 1. Chris Woakes (Royal Challengers Bangalore) Chris Woakes & Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter) Chris Woakes‘ work load as an all-rounder is pretty heavy and one can understand why England Cricket Board (ECB) are being possessive about him. But for RCB to have released him in the auction made very little sense considering the quality he brings to the fore. Yet, the thought-process behind this is not difficult to break down. He cost them a whopping Rs. 7.4 crore and they want to utilize that money to buy cricketers who might not feature in the World Cup. But Woakes is still 29 years old and has three or four years or good cricket left in him after the next season. 2. Zahir Khan (Rajasthan Royals) Zahir Khan of Lancashire Lightning. (Photo by Sarah Ansell/Getty Images). This is not a very familiar name for many cricket fans, but the ones who follow the game closely must’ve heard of him a lot of times. Zahir Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman formed a sensational spin partnership in the U19 World Cup and tore apart batting lineups. He is well in contention to make his International debut in the coming months. Zahir will turn 20 this December and of all the promise he has shown thus far, he really seems like a future superstar. But Rajasthan Royals let him go into the auctions and it is surprising as the club is well known for nurturing young talents like him. There’s a lot of demand for chinaman bowlers these days and in the auction, there will be a lot of franchises interested to earn his services. 3. Carlos Brathwaite (Sunrisers Hyderabad) Carlos Brathwaite. (Photo Source: Twitter) The other premium all-round option for Sunrisers, Shakib Al Hasan will not be available for the full season owing to World Cup commitments. There are also rumors floating that David Warner too will not feature for the whole season, which adds weight to the argument that releasing Carlos Brathwaite was a bad idea. He did well in the few games he played in the fag end of the tournament last season. With a lot of players stepping down for the season, Brathwaite’s presence could’ve proved pivotal. He is also not in the ODI setup of the Windies side as it stands and can be present the whole season. It is really hard to figure out the SRH’s point of view in terms of releasing him. 4. Heinrich Klaasen (Rajasthan Royals) Heinrich Klaasen of South Africa. (Photo Source: Twitter) There are rumors floating that the UAE is not the first choice to host IPL next year due to the slow pitches and that brings South Africa to the table. If South Africa hosts the tournament, releasing Heinrich Klaasen will hurt Rajasthan Royals big time. His inability to perform well on Indian tracks persuaded them to release him, but isn’t really a great choice by the club. Klaasen has been doing tremendously well ever since he made his debut for South Africa earlier this year. He’s a proper T20 outlet and can be an invaluable asset if the tournament is really hosted in his country. He came at a base price of Rs. 50 Lakh, which is pretty moderate for a player of his quality. 5. Quinton de Kock (Royal Challengers Bangalore) Quinton de Kock of Royal Challengers Bangalore in action. (Photo by IANS) It was player’s will to leave the club in case of Shikhar Dhawan’s trade from SRH to DD, but Quinton de Kock was left by RCB to accommodate Mustafizur Rahman. One of the superstars in making, De Kock has already proven himself as a match-winner and apart from Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, there ain’t many better players like him. With South Africa being the favourites to host the tournament, this decision looks further bad. He is a gem of a player on home turf and will most certainly muster a lot of runs. The 25-year-old will now be playing for Mumbai Indians in the upcoming season. Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League (IPL), Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.

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IPL 2019: Five wrong releases made by teams

A lot of cricketers will be pushing themselves away from the tournament in May to prepare for the World Cup, which means the auction strategy will be very different for all teams

4. Heinrich Klaasen (Rajasthan Royals)

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