IPL 2023 Retentions: SRH release Williamson, CSK let go of Bravo while most franchises retain core

IPL 2023 Retentions: SRH release Kane Williamson, CSK let go of Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard retires from IPL while most franchises retain core. Full list of retained players and remaining purse of all IPL franchise.

SRH release Kane Williamson ahead of IPL 2023 mini-auction (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

The retention deadline of November 15 for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 was the apple’s eye for all Indian cricket fans before the mini-auction which is set to be organized on December 23 in Kochi. Most of the franchises looked to retain their core players besides releasing a few players before the auction.

It is also notable that all the 10 franchises have been allowed an extra INR 5 crore to spend for the auction to make their overall purse worth INR 95 crore.

Let’s take a look at the retained & released players from all the 10 franchises along with their remaining purse.

Titans release Lockie Ferguson ahead of IPL 2023 mini-auction (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

Defending champions Gujarat Titans keep their core intact

The defending champions of IPL, Gujarat Titans (GT) under the leadership of Hardik Pandya in their maiden season were excellent in all departments of the game. Not surprisingly, they have decided to retain most of their players from the last season while releasing quite a few players - with the big name being England’s prolific opener Jason Roy who was dropped from the national squad before the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

Can they have a silent auction? They don’t require to change the winning combination of the team. With Lockie Ferguson being traded to Kolkata Knight Riders, they may look for an overseas pacer in that department.

Players released: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson, Dominic Drakes, Gurkeerat Singh, Jason Roy, Varun Aaron

Players collected via trades: NA

Overseas slots remaining: 3

Purse remaining: INR 19.25 crore

Current Squad: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad

Read More: IPL 2022, Final, GT vs RR, Top Performances: Pandya's 3-17 & 34 hands GT maiden silverware

Delhi Capitals let go Shardul Thakur ahead of IPL mini-auction (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

Delhi Capitals opt for stable track

Just like their last season, Delhi Capitals (DC) under the leadership of Rishabh Pant will look to depend mostly on the attacking batters, as a line-up consisting of Pant, David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan and Rovman Powell is capable of running a chill down the spine of any bowling attack in the game. The bowling line-up has some sheer pace and bounce, thanks to South Africa quick Anrich Nortje and left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman.

They will look for a back-up keeper with both KS Bharat and Tim Seifert being released. They can also search for an Indian fast bowling all-rounder.

Players Released: Shardul Thakur, Tim Seifert, Ashwin Hebbar, KS Bharat, Mandeep Singh

Players collected via trades: Aman Khan

Purse Remaining: INR 19.45 crore

Overseas slots remaining: 2

Current Squad: Rishabh Pant (C), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal

Read More: IPL 2022, DC vs MI, Top Performances: David 34, Kishan 48, Bumrah 3-25 eliminate DC; RCB through

CSK release Dwayne Bravo ahead of mini-auction happening (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

Chennai Super Kings and the mantra of keeping things simple

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have just followed their usual mantra of backing their players. With the 2023 season expected to be the last season for ‘Thala’ MS Dhoni, the Yellow Brigade have decided to retain their old players mostly. The dispute between them and Ravindra Jadeja seems to have been sorted out, while the big news was the release of Dwayne Bravo, who has served them for more than 10 years. With the spin options available at their disposal in the form of Maheesh Theekshana, Jadeja, Mitchell Santner and Moeen Ali, they are a dangerous side playing at Chepauk.

Actually, they don’t need a lot of players in the auction; they perhaps will look to get a decent death over overseas pacer in which department they lacked teeth in the last season.

Players released: Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Adam Milne, Hari Nishaanth, Chris Jordan, Bhagath Varma, KM Asif, Narayan Jagadeesan

Players collected via trades: NA

Purse remaining: INR 20.45 crore

Overseas slots remaining: 2

Current Squad: MS Dhoni (Captain), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Deepak Chahar, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana

Read More: IPL 2022: Curious case of Ravindra Jadeja; Is it the end of the road for him in yellow?

SRH release batter and WK Nicholas Pooran (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

New sunrise for Hyderabad

Going into the mini-auction, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will have so many headaches. Last year before the mega-auction, they decided to release their old captain David Warner and Rashid Khan to keep Kane Williamson but the Kiwi skipper’s poor form has forced the management to release him. They have also left out Nicholas Pooran while keeping full faith on their young guns like Abhishek Sharma and Washington Sundar.

They need a lot of shopping going in to the day of the mini auction; first of all, they need to finalise their captain besides looking for a pace bowling option. They also will need an overseas middle order batter who can score quickly at the end overs.

Players released: Kane Williamson, Nicholas Pooran, Jagadeesh Suchith, Priyam Garg, Ravikumar Samarth, Romario Shepherd, Saurabh Dubey, Sean Abbott, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Sushant Mishra, Vishnu Vinod

Players acquired via trades: NA

Purse remaining: INR 42.25 crore

Overseas slots remaining: 4

Current squad: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik

Read More: IPL 2022, PBKS vs SRH, Top Performances: Brar's 3-26, Livingstone 49* enable Punjab to finish 6th

Kieron Pollard only player with 10,000 runs & 300 T20 Wickets (Images: ©BCCI/IPL)

No more Pollard in the playing XI for Mumbai Indians

The most successful franchise of IPL history with five trophies, Mumbai Indians (MI) have decided to part ways with Kieron Pollard who has decided to retire from the IPL and will work as the batting coach of the team. Mumbai’s auction strategy will be interesting given how they have released quite a few fast bowlers. They may look to rebuild a new side.

They can target someone like Dushmantha Chameera or Andrew Tye besides looking for someone like Cameron Green who could possibly give them the cushion that Pollard used to offer them.

Players released: Kieron Pollard, Anmolpreet Singh, Aryan Juyal, Basil Thampi, Daniel Sams, Fabian Allen, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Rahul Buddhi, Riley Meredith, Sanjay Yadav, Tymal Mills

Players collected via trades: Jason Behrendorff

Purse remaining: INR 20.55 crore

Overseas slots remaining: 3

Current squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal

Read More: IPL 2022, MI’s Riddle: Is Tim David a true successor of Kieron Pollard?

Punjab Kings release captain Mayank Agarwal ahead of mini-auction (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

Punjab Kings and the same old story

It is the same old story for Punjab Kings (PBKS), who have dropped their last year’s captain Mayank Agarwal and placed Shikhar Dhawan in the position, and the franchise from the northern state of India will be having another long day at the mini-auction in Kochi. They have kept their batting line-up heavy with Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone, they still need three foreign players to add to their list.

They may look for Adil Rashid, who played for them in the 2021 season or they may look for an Indian opener as the back-up option.

Players released: Mayank Agarwal, Odean Smith, Vaibhav Arora, Benny Howell, Ishan Porel, Ansh Patel, Prerak Mankad, Sandeep Sharma, Writtick Chatterjee

Players collected via trades: NA

Purse remaining: INR 32.2 crore

Overseas slots remaining: 3

Current Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Shahrukh Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar

Read More: IPL 2022, DC vs PBKS, Top Performances: Marsh 63, Shardul 4-36 take DC to number 4

KKR release Pat Cummins ahead of IPL 2023 mini-auction (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

Hales, Cummins, Billings opt out from IPL 2023 making it tough for the Knight Riders

Even though the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have released most of the huge names, they have a few good players to show for. With Pat Cummins, Sam Billings and Alex Hales deciding to opt out from the IPL 2023, and with the release of both Ajinkya Rahane and Aaron Finch, they badly need an opener.

They may look for some wicket-keeping options and a prolific opener who can give them fiery starts.

Players released: Pat Cummins, Sam Billings, Aman Khan, Shivam Mavi, Mohammad Nabi, Chamika Karunaratne, Aaron Finch, Alex Hales, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Sharma, Baba Indrajith, Pratham Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Sheldon Jackson

Players collected via trades: Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson

Purse remaining: INR 7.05 crore

Overseas slots remaining: 3

Current Squad: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh

Read More: IPL 2022: KKR’s Rinku Singh – A Young Empathetic Soul who will do all it takes to reach his Goals

LSG let go Jason Holder ahead of IPL 2023 mini-auction (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

Lucknow Super Giants leave out Jason Holder and Manish Pandey

Even after they have variety in the side, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have released their veteran players but they backed their pace bowling options along with the batters.

They may also run after Cameron Green or Sam Curran to bring the left-hand option in their kitty.

Players released: Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Dushmantha Chameera, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, Manish Pandey, Shahbaz Nadeem

Players collected via trades: NA

Purse remaining: INR 23.35 crore

Overseas slots remaining: 4

Current Squad: KL Rahul (Captain), Aayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi

Read More: IPL 2022, Records: Rahul-de Kock 210* stand for LSG against KKR first 200+ stand in IPL History

RCB release Jason Behrendorff ahead of IPL 2023 mini-auction (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

Royal Challengers Bangalore back experience

After a successful 2021 season, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have decided to back their players and not to make mindless changes in the squad. Another team full of experience, they have some big names with proven track records.

They may look for a foreign pacer who could partner well with Josh Hazlewood in the future.

Players released: Jason Behrendorff, Aneeshwar Gautam, Chama Milind, Luvnith Sisodia, Sherfane Rutherford

Players acquired via trades: NA

Purse remaining: INR 8.75 crore

Overseas slots remaining: 2

Current Squad: Faf du Plessis (Captain), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep

Read More: IPL 2022, Eliminator, RCB vs LSG, Top Performances: Patidar 112*, Harshal 1-25 take RCB to Q2

Sanju Samson continue to lead Rajasthan Royals (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

Runners-up Royals opt for safe path

The runners-up from the last season, Rajasthan Royals (RR) have also decided to retain most of their players and the players that they have released didn’t surprise anyone at all. With the mixture of youth and experience, they can expect another successful season.

Perhaps, the only name they will look to go hard with could be Ben Stokes and if not him then surely someone like Sam Curran or Cameron Green.

Players released: Anunay Singh, Corbin Bosch, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Shubham Garhwal, Tejas Baroka

Players acquired via trades: NA

Overseas slots remaining: INR 13.2 crore

Current Squad: Sanju Samson (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa

The mini-auction ahead of IPL 2023 will be organized on December 23 in Kochi.

Read More: IPL 2022, Q2, RR vs RCB, Top Performances: Buttler 106*, McCoy & Krishna 3-fers take RR to IPL final