IPL 2018: 5 big names who failed to get retained

All the eight franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have announced the players they will retain for the upcoming season in 2018. All these franchises, including the ones who are making a comeback after a two-year ban, made some obvious and a few surprising calls. This is bound to remain the talking point in the cricket frenzy country for the next week or so.

Each team has a salary cap of Rs. 80 Crore, which is Rs. 14 Crore more than the previous year’s limit. BCCI realized that the perks of retaining few big players are that the fan base of the club is maintained. Many can’t imagine MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli playing for any club other than Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers respectively.

Well, the battles lines have been drawn for an exciting auction this month. Bangalore will be hosting the bidding war on January 27th and 28th. This is all set to be the biggest auction in IPL history after the inaugural one. Whilst the fans are hoping to see some high profile players join their teams, no one has a clue as to what the franchises are thinking. Here’s the list of five big names, who failed to make the cut as far as retention is concerned.

1. Gautam Gambhir

Two-time IPL winning captain, who has one of the best records as the leader, fourth highest run-scorer in IPL history. Despite all his incomparable achievements, Gautam Gambhir wasn’t retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders. The southpaw is certainly one performer of the best in IPL history and a lot of teams will be battling it out with each other for him.

After three diabolical seasons initially, it was Gambhir’s leadership that made this club a fan favourite and a force to reckon with. But before the other franchises get too excited about this, they have to realise one thing. They still have the RTM card to redeem and it will come as a huge surprise if KKR don’t continue with Gambhir.