Best playing 11 of released players ahead of IPL 2024 auction ft. Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer 

The retention lists of all ten Indian Premier League (IPL) teams were made public on Sunday, November 26. With the IPL 2024 auction scheduled to take place on December 19 in Dubai, franchises are fervently strategizing to solidify their teams.

As many as 173 players were retained cumulatively by all ten franchises, with a combined salary cap of ₹262.95 crore still available for the teams to fill the 77 remaining slots in the upcoming auction.

The major talking point from the retention day came from the Gujarat Titans' (GT) camp. After reports suggested that a trade deal between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat had been put in place for Hardik Pandya, GT retained their title-winning skipper.

However, on November 27, the two teams put all the stories to bed and confirmed Pandya's joining of his former franchise MI in an all-cash deal of ₹15 crore. Additionally, Mumbai created the funds by trading off Cameron Green to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a fee of ₹17.50 crore.

Apart from these two high-profile trades, there were some eyebrow-raising releases of players from IPL franchises as well. A total of 85 players were let go by the ten franchises, and we have made the best playing XI out of that.

On that note, let's take a look at the best XI of released players ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.

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Openers: Ben Stokes (CSK) and Phil Salt (DC)

The openers for this imaginary team would be two Englishmen, Ben Stokes and Phil Salt. The left-and-right-hand pair is always an ideal combination for openers.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) broke their bank to acquire the services of Ben Stokes at the IPL 2023 auction. However, the pricey move didn't pay off, as the star all-rounder could only play a couple of games and became the most expensive release at ₹16.25 crore.

Stokes won't be available for IPL 2024 either, after he pulled out of the tournament to manage his workload.

Phil Salt, meanwhile, was let go by the Delhi Capitals (DC), who released as many as 11 different players. Salt, who played nine games for Delhi in the 2023 season, fared decently and made 218 runs at a strike rate of 163.91.

Salt was released for ₹2 crore, which was his base price at the IPL 2023 auction. The 27-year-old will be the wicket-keeper for this team and is likely to find a suitor due to his hard-hitting prowess.

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Middle-order: Ambati Rayudu (CSK), Harry Brook (SRH), Shahrukh Khan (PBKS)

Shahrukh Khan for Punjab Kings [Getty Images]

At No. 3 would be an IPL legend Ambati Rayudu. He was perhaps the only player whose release was expected as Rayudu hung up his boots after the IPL 2023 final. He announced his retirement last season and was released for ₹6.75 crore by CSK.

With as many as six IPL titles under his belt, Rayudu is one of the most illustrious players in IPL history. He has played 203 IPL games and has made 4,348 runs at a strike rate of 127.54.

Rayudu is followed by two big releases- Harry Brook and Shahrukh Khan. While Brook was let go by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for ₹10.75 crore, Punjab Kings (PBKS) released Shahrukh against ₹9 crore.

Both Brook and Shahrukh had a middling IPL 2023. In his maiden IPL campaign, Brook made just 190 runs at an average of 21.11 across 11 innings for the Orange Army. Shahrukh, meanwhile, batted 13 times and piled up only 156 runs at an average of 22.29.

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All-rounders: Shakib Al Hasan (KKR), Wanindu Hasaranga (RCB), Shardul Thakur (KKR)

Wanindu Hasaranga for Royal Challengers Bangalore [Getty Images]

Both Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released some surprising names from their teams.

While KKR omitted some great but underperforming players, RCB are set for an overhaul after releasing almost their entire bowling unit.

Shakib Al Hasan and Shardul Thakur were released by KKR. While Gautam Gambhir recently became the mentor for the two-time champions, there was a possibility of KKR retaining Shakib. However, the management released the Bangladeshi ODI captain for ₹1.50 crore.

KKR even released Shardul Thakur, who played just one season with the franchise. KKR traded Thakur frrom Delhi for a massive sum of ₹10.75 crore. Unfortunately for the franchise, the Indian bowling all-rounder failed to deliver on his potential. Across 11 IPL 2023 matches, he made 113 runs and took just seven wickets at a poor economy of 10.78.

In what came as one of the most shocking decisions, RCB released Wanindu Hasaranga. The Sri Lankan maestro is currently injured and even missed the 2023 ODI World Cup.

While he is expected to fully take part in IPL 2024, RCB's move might come back to haunt them. After all, across a total of 26 IPL games for the Bangalore-based franchise, Hasaranga has picked up 35 wickets at a strike rate of 15.77.

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Bowlers: Jofra Archer (MI), Kartik Tyagi (SRH), Josh Hazlewood (RCB)

Jofra Archer laying down in the IPL 2023 match between MI and RCB [Getty Images]

The bowling unit of this team will consist of Jofra Archer, Kartik Tyagi, and Josh Hazlewood. All the three pacers are likely to garner interest from multiple IPL teams and will attract bids at the upcoming auction.

First up is Archer, who was picked up by the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the IPL 2022 auction for ₹8 crore. It was a risky move by the five-time champions, who knew that Archer wasn't available for the entire season, but they still bid for him with a futuristic mindset.

As a result, the fiery pacer could only play five IPL 2023 games and managed to pick up just a couple of wickets at an expensive economy rate of 9.50. With his unpredictability over injuries, coupled with the need to generate funds to bring in Hardik Pandya, MI opted to release Archer.

There is an air of excitement for Kartik Tyagi, who is expected to be one of those few uncapped Indians to trigger some real interest among franchises. He was released for ₹4 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were already stacked up by several frontline bowlers on their roster.

Tyagi is one of those rare Indian pacers who can click speeds around 150+ kmph consistently. He has taken 15 wickets across 19 IPL games.

At No. 11 is the recent ODI World Cup winner, Josh Hazlewood. The Australian pacer is likely to miss the first half of IPL 2024 due to the birth of his second child. Regardless, his omission might prove costly for RCB, as Hazlewood is one of the best all-format pacers in world cricket currently.

The tall right-armer was picked up by RCB for ₹7.75 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction. Hazlewood took no time to show his class, as he took 20 wickets at an impressive strike rate of under 14 across 12 games. However, he missed the major chunk of IPL 2023 due to an injury.