IPL 2022: One player from previous season successfully replaced by franchises

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) presented a unique challenge in front of the franchises. With the mega auction taking place earlier this year, all existing eight franchises were allowed to retain just 4 players, adhering to the local and overseas quota. Moreover, with the addition of two new franchises, the competition for better T20 players in the market just became more intense.

For the eight franchises that competed in the last season, Plan A was to try and re-recruit their star players in the auction for a favourable price. However, if that did not pan out in the way they had anticipated, the franchises could utilize their Plan B. The secondary plan was to attempt to find a correct replacement for the player, who could at least fill a part of the void left by the predecessor.

The few franchises have found not only one but quite a few successful replacements. In this article, we look at one player from the previous season who has been successfully replaced by each franchise.

One player from previous season successfully replaced by franchises in IPL 2022

1) Chennai Super Kings – Dwaine Pretorius for Shardul Thakur

Chennai Super Kings retained their core from the previous season, as they set out to build a side around the winning combination. However, despite making four retentions, there was no place for Indian all-rounder, Shardul Thakur. The Mumbai-based pacer had developed a habit of being the partnership breaker during crunch junctures of the game. In the 16 outings of last season, Thakur picked up 21 wickets at an average of 25.09. Moreover, he brought an added dimension to his side with his batting prowess.

However, Chennai Super Kings have somewhat managed to find a suitable replacement for Shardul Thakur in the form of South African all-rounder, Dwaine Pretorius. The Proteas player has played two matches so far and has managed to pick up four wickets. His wickets have come at important stages in the game, as the all-rounder dismissed KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock in CSK’s outing against the Lucknow Super Giants. The 33-year-old also can hit the ball hard with the bat and could come in handy at some point in the IPL.