5 Worst releases by franchises ahead of IPL 2020 Auction

Over the years, we have seen how the franchises take just one poor season into consideration and release a player who later joins another team and becomes a star.

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Dale Steyn RCB
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Dale Steyn. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)

Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)

All the IPL franchises declared their list of retained and released players ahead of the IPL 2020 Auction on November 15 at 5 PM. There were a lot of surprising names present in the retention list while some star players were shockingly released by the teams. Royal Challengers Bangalore grabbed the headlines by ending their association with a host of their players while Kings XI Punjab too had some surprises in the store.

Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad released 5 players each while Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians made the final adjustments to their squad after being very active in the trade window this year. Kolkata Knight Riders raised a few eyebrows as well by declaring their list of released players ahead of the 2020 auction.

Over the years, we have seen how the franchises take just one poor season into consideration and release a player who later joins another team and becomes a star. The likes of Ambati Rayudu and David Warner are the best examples of the aforementioned statement. These releases are termed as the ‘worst releases’ and thus, in this article, we will have a look at the 5 worst releases by franchises ahead of IPL 2020 Auction.

1. Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn. (Photo: IANS)

The hard-hitting Australian opener, Chris Lynn had wowed everyone with his clean hitting for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He had been an integral part of the Shahrukh Khan-owned franchise and the Aussie had formed a destructive opening pair with the Caribbean all-rounder, Sunil Narine.

Lynn had played 13 matches for Knight Riders in IPL 2019 where he had aggregated 405 runs at a healthy strike rate of 139.65. The right-handed batsman had struck 4 half-centuries while his highest score was 82.

Despite having such good numbers, Kolkata has released him and what is more surprising is that Lynn’s ‘Bash Brother’ Brendon McCullum has joined the coaching staff of KKR this year and he has decided to release the Aussie from the team.

2. Piyush Chawla

Kolkata Knight Riders
Piyush Chawla of Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo by IANS)

Another disappointing release made by Kolkata Knight Riders is the release of wily leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. Although the Uttar Pradesh-based leggie has never been able to cement his spot in the Indian team, he has been an important player in T20 cricket.

Chawla has immense experience of playing 157 IPL matches where he has scalped 150 wickets at an economy rate of 7.82. The right-arm leg-spinner has even chipped in with some vital knocks down the order for Kolkata Knight Riders hence, he was a valuable asset for the team.

Now that the Kolkata-based franchise has released him, it will be interesting to see where he lands up because a lot of franchises would want him in their team and given that he has taken two 4-wicket hauls in his IPL career, expect him to emerge as one of the costliest buys of IPL 2020 auction.

3. Moises Henriques

Moises Henriques
Moises Henriques. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

The Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques has made a name for himself by playing in the various T20 leagues all around the world. The right-handed batsman had been a crucial part of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous seasons and, his performances earned him a contract from Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2019.

Henriques was set to make his debut for KXIP however, a last-minute injury ruled him out of that contest. While the Portugal-born star is not a regular member of team Australia, he was the only all-round option available with Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2019.

They should have retained him and looked for a back-up because now they will have to hunt for a bunch of good all-rounders in the auction. For the record, Henriques has played 57 IPL matches, scoring nearly 1,000 runs and scalping 38 wickets at a strike rate of 23.42.

4. Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Last year, when the Royal Challengers Bangalore were struggling to register a victory in the IPL, South African speedster Dale Steyn had joined the camp and inflicted new lifeblood in the RCB team. Though the Proteas bowler played very few matches for the Bangalore-based franchise, he lit up their campaign with his fast bowling.

Even the team’s captain, Virat Kohli was delighted after his arrival. However, to everyone’s surprise, RCB have done away with Steyn ahead of the auction while they have decided to retain the inexperienced Mohammed Siraj.

The South African right-arm quick had been out of the IPL for a long, long time before RCB signed him up as a replacement hence, it will be interesting to see if he can attract any of the franchises towards him in the auction.

5. Sam Curran

Sam Curran
Sam Curran. (Photo Source: Twitter)

England’s upcoming left-arm pacer, Sam Curran had grabbed the headlines by taking a hat-trick for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2019. His magnificent bowling spell had helped Kings XI Punjab defeat the Delhi Capitals in that match however, the Englishman will not don the KXIP jersey this year.

Though he had an economy rate of 9.78, he had performed extremely well in his debut season as Curran ended the season with 10 wickets in 9 matches. The 21-year-old even scored 95 runs for Kings XI Punjab at an average of 23.75 and a strike rate of 172.72.

ICC had named him as one of the top five breakout stars of 2018 which shows that the all-rounder possesses an incredible amount of talent. He had even troubled India a lot in the Test series played last year and as the experts say, a left-arm quick brings an ‘X-factor’ along with himself so, this could prove to be a massive blunder from KXIP’s side.

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