KKR CEO Venky Mysore tells Yuvraj Singh the reason behind releasing Chris Lynn

Kolkata Knight Riders raised a number of eyebrows by releasing their star batsman Chris Lynn ahead of the upcoming auction for IPL 2020. Lynn was one of the most consistent performers for the two-time IPL winners in the last couple of seasons. He scored more than 400 runs in both the previous seasons as KKR made it to the playoffs in 2018 and narrowly missed out this year.

But his performances did not make much of a difference as KKR did not retain him. Lynn, however, did not take long to make the franchise re-think their decision. The Australia star blazed his way to 91 from just 30 balls for Maratha Arabians against Team Abu Dhabi in the ongoing Abu Dhabi T10 League on Monday.

Following his knock, former India batsman Yuvraj Singh said that releasing Lynn was a ‘bad call’ by the KKR franchise. Yuvraj, who is also playing for Maratha Arabians, was all praise for Lynn and made it clear that he was not at all impressed by the Kolkata-based franchise’s decision to release the hard-hitting Australia batsman.

“He is someone I have seen in the IPL. He has given some great start to KKR. I really don’t understand why they have not retained him. I think it is a bad call, must send SRK a message on that. Chris was just outstanding today,” he told reporters.

Venky Mysore reveals the reason

Venky Mysore, CEO of the franchise, did publicly make it clear as to why the team released Chris Lynn. In a tweet that looked more like a banter, Mysore said that the team released Lynn so that it could bid for Yuvraj. It should be noted that Yuvraj was also released by Mumbai Indians last week. The World Cup-winner, however, will not be able to put his name in the auction since he retired from international cricket as well as domestic cricket earlier this year.

“@YUVSTRONG12 we released @lynny50 so that we could bid for you! Love and respect for both of you champions! #IPL2020 #KKR #Legends #Sixhitters @KKRiders,” wrote Mysore.

@YUVSTRONG12 we released @lynny50 so that we could bid for you! 😜 Love and respect for both of you champions! #IPL2020 #KKR #Legends #Sixhitters @KKRiders

— Venky Mysore (@VenkyMysore) November 19, 2019