Reports: Kolkata Knight Riders will not retain Shakib Al Hasan for IPL 2018

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have decided to release the star all-rounder of Bangladesh Shakib Al Hasan for the next edition of Indian Premier League. He was with the franchise for almost seven years and now won’t be retained by them. The player retention list of all the eight teams will be declared in the evening on Thursday, the event which will be aired live on Star Sports. However, few more shocking revelations are expected as there is a possibility that a couple might not even retain any player.

There are also reports that Gautam Gambhir will also be released by KKR and are keen on retaining Sunil Narine and Andre Rusell. The news is actually surprising as the left-hander has led the side admirably well in the last few seasons and also won the coveted title twice. Though the team would still have the option to get the likes of Shakib and Gambhir back in the squad by using the Right to Match card.

More Bangladesh players to be available for auction

The news of Shakib Al Hasan being released by KKR was confirmed by the newspaper website of Bangladesh the dailystar.net. The report stated, “Bangladesh’s star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has been featuring in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders for the past seven years but played only one match last season, has been released for this edition and he will also be available in the players’ auction.” Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided to allow seven players to play in the upcoming edition of the cash-rich tournament.

“Mustafizur was denied the NOC for the Pakistan Super League in February last year as he was recovering from injury but the board opted to grant the NOC for the IPL to Mustafizur, who played the previous two seasons for Sunrisers Hyderabad. The other six Bangladesh players are Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Liton Das, Sabbir Rahman and Abul Hasan,” it further stated. The news is surely going to excite the local fans but it remains to be seen if any of the franchise show interest in them during the mega auctions.

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