IPL 2022: Team-wise one unexpected player release ahead of the mega auction

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League was going along pretty well until COVID-19 decided to get in its way. With a rise in cases in the bio bubbles of a few franchises, the current edition of the IPL has been temporarily suspended. Every team’s management will still be thinking about their team’s tactics for when the season resumes, but they will also have to start planning about next year’s mega auction. With two new teams in action, the quality will only enhance. Teams will have to be spot on with their retentions as those players will form the core of their team for the next three-year cycle. There are various permutations and combinations involved in the retention process as there are restrictions regarding many capped Indian and overseas players retained. Thus, certain big players will also have to be released. Here’s a look at one such player from every team who could be unexpectedly released 8. Chennai Super Kings – Suresh Raina Suresh Raina. (Photo Source: Twitter) Suresh Raina has been one of the best batsmen in IPL history and is without any doubt CSK’s best player of all time as well. He has been a consistent source of runs for them in the top order over the years, but the same can’t be said at present. He was in a rather poor form this season as he was able to score just 123 runs in six innings at an average of 24.6 while striking at less than 127. After a bright start to the campaign against the Delhi Capitals, he lost his form completely and didn’t have any impactful innings. It was very similar in 2019 as well as he could score just 383 runs in 17 games at an average of just 23.93. They have got several better options to choose from with the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Faf du Plessis all performing better while also having captain, MS Dhoni. Based on his form in the recent past, it is highly likely that he could be released. 7. Delhi Capitals – Kagiso Rabada Kagiso Rabada. (Photo Source: Twitter) Kagiso Rabada is one of the world’s best pacers at his best and has been a real asset for his IPL club over the last two seasons. Having picked 55 wickets across those two seasons, he has played an instrumental role in his side reaching the playoffs on consecutive occasions. However, he had a slow start to the season in 2021 and struggled to find his usual rhythm, and could only pick up eight wickets in seven games while conceding at 8.76. There were calls to drop him for Anrich Nortje, but the team management decided to stick with him, showing that they have a lot of faith in the South African pacer. As far as DC’s retention is concerned, they are likely to keep hold of Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw given their age, talent, and recent form. The third pick could be a toss-up between Shreyas Iyer and Kagiso Rabada. They might end up retaining Iyer not just because of the fact that he is their captain but also due to him being one of the better Indian batsmen out there, which would come at the cost of releasing Rabada. 6. Kolkata Knight Riders – Eoin Morgan Eoin Morgan. (Photo Source: Twitter) Eoin Morgan was arguably KKR’s best player last season and was even appointed as their captain midway through the season after relieving Dinesh Karthik of his duties. He was expected to be a key player for them once again, but that failed to materialize as he struggled in the first half of the tournament. He managed to score just 92 runs in seven games at an average of 15.33 while striking at a paltry 112.19. The 34-year-old could break into double digits on just two occasions and was also dismissed for two ducks. Given his mediocre season thus far, and also the fact that he will be 35 by the time next seas starts, KKR might choose retaining players like Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, and Varun Chakravarthy instead of their present captain. 5. Mumbai Indians – Hardik Pandya Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Mumbai Indians have managed to build a good squad with several Indian players, but now that all of them have become capped, they will have severe headaches in terms of who to retain. Currently, all seven of their first-choice Indian players are a part of India’s limited-overs squads and it will be a difficult task in choosing just three. Rohit Sharma will definitely be retained given the fact he is their captain and also one of their most important players. Jasprit Bumrah is also a guaranteed pick given that he is India’s best bowler and is exceptional at the death. The final spot will probably be a shootout between Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. Given the fact that Hardik Pandya doesn’t bowl for MI anymore, the decision will be based on their batting abilities and there are not many better than Suryakumar at present. Pandya’s form with the bat has been poor as well and thus, there is a good chance he could be released into the auction pool. 4. Punjab Kings- Ravi Bishnoi Ravi Bishnoi. (Photo Source: Twitter) Ravi Bishnoi is one of the best young Indian cricketers at present and has been quite impressive for the Punjab Kings during his time with them. He picked 13 wickets last season and was the 5th highest wicket-taker among spinners. Despite having such a strong campaign behind him, he wasn’t picked for the first four games this season and they won just one game. However, in the four games that he played, they won two and they looked much better with the ball as well. He picked up four wickets at a strike rate of 24 while maintaining a brilliant economy rate of 6.18. His control and consistency are remarkable for a 20-year-old leg-spinner. However, he could still be released by the Punjab Kings because it is almost certain that KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Mohammed Shami will be retained, and thus, they might have to release him. 3. Rajasthan Royals – Ben Stokes Ben Stokes. (Photo Source: Twitter) Ben Stokes has largely been an underperformer in the IPL and has failed to deliver performances as lofty as his price tag. Despite this, RR’s management trusted him and retained him again after he showed a few positive signs last season. He was set to continue as their opener even for this season, but an injury in the very first match meant that he was ruled out of the tournament. In his only game of the season, he was dismissed for a duck against the Punjab Kings. Rajasthan Royals are likely to retain Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler as the overseas players given that the former is their best bowler while the latter is a better batsman than Stokes while also being a wicketkeeper. Thus, Stokes could find himself playing for a new team in 2022. 2. Royal Challengers Bangalore – Glenn Maxwell Glenn Maxwell. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Glenn Maxwell was one of the most expensive buys during the auction for this campaign and unlike his previous campaigns where he was largely poor, he was able to deliver the goods this time around. The Australian allrounder was in pretty good form for RCB before the season was suspended. He scored 223 runs in seven games at an average of 37.16 while striking at nearly 145. Maxwell was their highest run-scorer as well. Coming in at No.4, he often provided the team with firepower during the middle overs and even scored two half-centuries. However, he might still find himself released because of how good the players around him are. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers are guaranteed to be retained, while the third spot could be taken up by Devdutt Padikkal or Yuzvendra Chahal. 1. Sunrisers Hyderabad – David Warner David Warner. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) David Warner is, without a doubt, the greatest player in SRH’s history and has carried their batting throughout his time with them. He hasn’t had a single season where he has scored less than 500 runs for them, but he wasn’t able to replicate the same form in 2021. He scored 193 runs in six games at an average of 32.16, but his strike rate of just 110.28 was rather concerning. Given the team’s poor form, they even took a bold decision and decided to not only sack him as captain but also dropped him from the playing XI. The Australian has become synonymous with the franchise and it would be difficult to imagine him playing for another team. However, with him being sacked as captain and relations probably a bit sour, this could well be his last year with SRH.

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IPL 2022: Team-wise one unexpected player release ahead of the mega auction

Here’s a look at one such player from every team who could be an unexpected released ahead of IPL mega auction.

6. Kolkata Knight Riders – Eoin Morgan

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