Five worst player releases by franchises ahead of Mega Auction
Shreyas Iyer (Image Credit : Twitter)
The mega auction of the Indian T20 League saw a lot of players being sold to different teams. Few players went unsold due to several reasons. Ishan Kishan became the most expensive player this year. Before this, a lot of players were released by the franchises last year as they could retain only four players. Some of them were bought back their respective franchises while others have joined different teams.
In this listicle, we will discuss the five worst player releases made by team owners.
Here is the list of the five worst releases
- Faf du Plessis
The former South Africa skipper was released by Chennai last year. He was an integral part of the team since 2012. The right-hander has played 100 games in the Indian T20 League and amassed 2935 runs averaging 34.94 with 22 fifties. Plessis entered the auction with base price of 2 crores INR. Teams such as Bangalore, Chennai, and Delhi fought for his services but Bangalore emerged as winners at 7 crores. He was only two runs behind Orange Cap winner and opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad last year. Given his numbers, he could have easily been retained by the franchise.
2. Rashid Khan
The leg-spinner was released by Hyderabad last year. He started playing for the franchise in 2017. Since then, he played 76 games and took 93 wickets, averaging 20.55 and striking at 19.48. His economy-rate is 6.33, which makes him an asset to the team. Ahead of the mega auction, he was signed by new entrant Gujarat alongside Hardik Pandya and Shubhman Gill. Hyderabad releasing Rashid was a shocking move given the match winner Rashid is.
3. Shreyas Iyer
The right-hander was released by Delhi last year. The Mumbai-born player captained the team from 2018-2020. In the 41 games he led, the team won 21 and lost 18. The team qualified for the playoffs in 2019 and played the final in 2020. Iyer was a great player to have not just as a skipper, but as a batter as well. It was strange to see Delhi let go of him.
4. David Warner
The left-hander was released by Hyderabad last year. He started playing for the team in 2014 and remained an integral part till the middle of the last season. He won three Orange Caps awards while playing for the team, in 2015, 2017, and 2019. The Aussie opener also led the team to their maiden title in 2016. The team also played in the playoffs every year from 2017 to 2020. One bad season, and the franchise released him. Warner has been in staggering form of late and the franchise might rue releasing him later.
5. Trent Boult
The Kiwi left-arm pacer was released by Mumbai last year. He played a major role in the team’s quest to retaining the ITL title in 2020. The lead pacer took 25 wickets, averaging 18.28 that year. He became a potent new-ball bowler alongside Jasprit Bumrah. This year, he has been signed by Rajasthan, which has one of the best bowling attacks this year with the likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile, R Ashwin, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, etc in the side. With Mumbai backing Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard and Jasprit Bumrah, it was tough for them to back Boult. However, they could have gone all-out at him in the auction.
