RCB release Steyn ahead of IPL Auction; retain Padikkal

Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday retained 13 players ahead of next month’s Indian Premier League auctions for the 2020 edition of the marquee Twenty20 event. The auctions for the 13th edition will be held in Kolkata on December 19.

The Virat Kohli-led side rewarded consistency in the domestic circuit with the likes of Devdutt Padikkal and Parthiv Patel held back, while AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali were the two foreign players who managed to remain in the side.

The Bengaluru-based side let go of Dale Steyn, Colin de Grandhomme, Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer among eight others. The side is now left with a purse of Rs 28 crore to build a new team ahead of the season.

Chris Lynn, David Miller, Jaydev Unadkat and Chris Morris were among the 71 players released by their respective franchisees.

Friday was the deadline for releasing, trading and retaining players. A total of 127 players have been retained including 35 foreigners. Lynn, the big-hitting Australian opener, was released by Kolkata Knight Riders after five fruitful seasons.

Kings XI Punjab go into the auction with a purse of Rs 42.70 crore, the biggest among the eight teams after they released eight players including South Africa’s Miller and Englishman Sam Curran.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians have retained 18 players including veteran Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga despite his fitness issues while releasing 12.

Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who quit all forms of cricket including IPL earlier this year, has also been released.

Three-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings have released England cricketers Sam Billings and David Willey besides three Indian players including 2015 World Cupper Mohit Sharma.

Rajasthan Royals have released 11 players including pacer Jaydev Unadkat, whom they had bought back for Rs 8.4 crore last year after paying Rs 11.5 crore for him in the previous season. The franchise also announced that star Australian batsman Steve Smith will continue to lead the team.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Retained players: Virat Kohli, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Devdutt Padikkal, Parthiv Patel, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Washington Sundar, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, AB de Villiers.

Released players: Akshdeep Nath, Colin de Grandhomme, Dale Steyn, Heinrich Klassen, Himmat Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Marcus Stoinis, Milind Kumar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Prayas Ray Barman, Shimron Hetmyer, Tim Southee.

List of players released (other teams):

Chennai Super Kings: Chaitanya Bishnoi, David Willey, Dhruv Shorey, Mohit Sharma, Sam Billings, Scott Kuggeleijn.

Delhi Capitals: Ankush Bains, Bandaru Ayyappa, Chris Morris, Colin Ingram, Colin Munro, Hanuma Vihari, Jalaj Saxena, Manjot Kalra, Nathu Singh.

Kings XI Punjab: Agnivesh Ayachi, Andrew Tye, David Miller, Moises Henriques, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Anrich Nortje, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Lynn, Joe Denly, KC Cariappa, Matt Kelly, Nikhil Naik, Piyush Chawla, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Robin Uthappa, Shrikant Mundhe.

Mumbai Indians: Adam Milne, Alzarri Joseph, Barinder Sran, Ben Cutting, Beuran Hendricks, Evin Lewis, Jason Behrendorff, Pankaj Jaswal, Rasikh Dar, Yuvraj Singh.

Rajasthan Royals: Aryaman Birla, Ashton Turner, Ish Sodhi, Jaydev Unadkat, Liam Livingstone, Oshane Thomas, Prashant Chopra, Rahul Tripathi, Shubham Ranjane, Stuart Binny, Sudhesan Midhun.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Deepak Hooda, Martin Guptill, Ricky Bhui, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan.