5 shocking player releases from IPL franchises over the years
Some popular players in the hyper-competitive Indian Premier League (IPL) have been released by their franchises even after having a decent run with them. Franchises end up taking harsh calls, and for the greater good of the team, some players are compelled to end their term with them. However, quite a few of these decisions have even been extremely baffling. In this article, we talk about five such cricketers who were released by their franchises.
5. Shaun Marsh – Kings XI Punjab
Australian Shaun Marsh was the first batsman to win the Orange Cap, way back in the first IPL season in 2008. In his illustrious IPL career for the Kings XI Punjab, he has scored 2477 runs in 71 IPL matches at a healthy strike-rate of 132.74. He played his final season in 2017, where he scored 264 runs in just eight innings at an average of 33 and strike-rate of 136.04, including 2 half-centuries. Punjab did not retain him ahead of the Mega Auction for IPL 2018. Surprisingly, no other team purchased him in the auctions.
4. Nitish Rana – Mumbai Indians
Southpaw Nitish Rana made his IPL debut with Mumbai Indians in 2016. He has been a crucial player for Mumbai and Kolkata in his 5-year career, scoring 1437 runs in 60 games at a strike-rate of 135.57. Rana was the third-highest run-getter for the Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise in 2017. He scored 333 runs in just 12 innings of that season and had a better season than captain Rohit Sharma. Rana hit 24 boundaries and 17 sixes in MI’s triumph. However, he was released ahead of the Mega Auction and KKR purchased him straightaway.
3. Michael Hussey – Chennai Super Kings
This was probably one of the most surprising releases in the history of the IPL. Michael Hussey, after winning the Orange Cap in 2013, was released by the Chennai Super Kings. Hussey had registered 733 runs with six fifty-plus scores for Chennai that year. Mumbai purchased him for five crores in the auction but he failed to make a significant impact for them. Mr.Cricket only scored 209 runs in nine innings at a paltry strike-rate of 114.84. He returned to CSK the following year.
2. Sourav Ganguly – Kolkata Knight Riders
‘Dada’ was the face of Bengal Cricket during his times. And it was no surprise when the Kolkata Knight Riders picked him up as their marquee signing ahead of the first season of the Indian Premier League. Ganguly was the team’s best batsman as he aggregated 493 runs in 14 innings at a magnificent average of 37.92. It is worth noting that none of the other KKR batsmen managed to touch the 300-run mark in the 2010 season. Meanwhile, Dada scored four half-centuries and also recorded the highest individual score (88) by a KKR batsman in that tournament. It was expected that Dada would stay at KKR but the team management didn’t retain him. When he returned to the auction, he did not find any bidders. Ultimately, Pune Warriors India signed him as a replacement player.
1. Yuvraj Singh – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Two-time World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh was one of India’s most formidable white-ball cricketers of all time. However, he never quite settled for one IPL team. Yuvi was first bought by the star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore. He had a decent season as he was the second-highest run-getter for the team, with 376 runs in 14 matches. Only AB de Villiers scored more runs for RCB than Yuvraj in that season. The southpaw slammed three fifties and scored runs at an average of 34.18. He even took a four-wicket haul against the Rajasthan Royals. Even then, RCB released him which was a surprise move.
