The Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday released Yuvraj Singh, their most expensive buy in the last Indian Premier League auction while Delhi Daredevils released 13 players including Kevin Pietersen.
Royal Challengers had paid a whopping Rs 14 crore to acquire Yuvraj, but the move had consumed a large share of their auction money, affecting their bid to buy other players. On the field too, the move did not pay the desired results as Yuvraj struggled to contribute consistently with bat or ball.
The left-hander was the second highest run-getter for Royal Challengers with 376 runs with three fifties at 34, but at various stages he failed to reach the lofty standards of old.
The Punjab man did not do anything remarkable with his left-arm spin, delivering 22.4 overs for just five wickets at 37.40 and at an economy rate of 8.27. The Royal Challengers finished seventh in the eight-team tournament despite possessing a clutch of heavy hitters at the top.
The Royal Challengers sources indicated that they might buy back Yuvraj at a lesser price in the next auction, scheduled to be held in January. His omission from India’s 30-man probables for the World Cup next year too has contributed to the dip in his value.
In effect, the move to release Yuvraj will add Rs 14 crore to the auction fund of the Royal Challengers, and with the team also releasing the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ravi Rampaul besides others, they will have a purse of Rs 21 crore for the auction.
Daredevils, another team that has failed to piece together consistent efforts over the past editions of the IPL, too decided to let go some of the big names in their line-up. Pietersen, who has made only sporadic appearances for the team in the past due to his commitment with the England team and also because of injuries, has been released along with India opener M Vijay and wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik.
In other significant moves, Mumbai Indians released pacer Zaheer Khan along with left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. They have already released batsman Mike Hussey. Kings XI Punjab too joined the off-loading trend, by letting go of India Test player Cheteshwar Pujara, and former Indian players Murali Kartik and L Balaji.
List of players released
Royal Challengers: Yuvraj Singh, Muttiah Muralitharan, Albie Morkel, Ravi Rampaul, Sachin Rana, Shadab Jakati, Tanmay Mishra
Mumbai Indians: Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Jalaj Saxena, Ben Dunk, Apurva Wankhede, CM Gautam, Krishmar Santokie, Sushant Marathe
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Amit Mishra, Aaron Finch, Darren Sammy, Irfan Pathan, Jason Holder, Venugopal Rao, Brendan Taylor, P Parameswaran, Anirudha S, Manprit Juneja
Chennai Super Kings: Ben Hilfenhaus, John Hastings, Vijay Shankar, David Hussey.
Delhi Daredevils: Kevin Pietersen, Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay, Jayadev Unadkat, Ross Taylor, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Rahul Sharma, Wayne Parnell, Jimmy Neesham, Siddarth Kaul, Rahul Shukla, HS Sharath, Milind Kumar.
Kings XI Punjab: Cheteshwar Pujara, L Balaji, Murali Kartik.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Jacques Kallis, Debabrata D, Sayan Mondal.
Rajasthan Royals: Brad Hodge, Unmukt Chand, Kevon Cooper, Ankit Sharma, Amit Sharma, Ankush Bains.
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