IPL 2019: List of players who might be released by each franchise ahead of the next season

The 12th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) is done and dusted. Several players failed to do any justice to their price tags in this edition and owing to that we can expect the franchises to release their underperforming big-money signings before the start of the next season.

With the ICC World Cup 2019 immediately following IPL 2019, several star players like Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, and Aaron Finch opted themselves out of the last IPL auction. Since these star players are expected to return in next year’s player auction, we can expect the franchises to release several players to increase their purse amount.

Now, Let us look at the probable list of players who might be released by each franchise before the start of next season.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda.

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#8 Royal Challengers Bangalore

From left to right: Dube, Nath, Prayas Ray Barman, Klaasen, Grandhomme, and Southee

Despite a yet another revamp in their squad ahead of IPL 2019, Royal Challengers Bangalore once again failed to qualify for the playoffs. Hence, we can expect RCB to release a large number of players once again.

In particular, RCB might release three of their expensive signings in this year’s IPL auction - Shivam Dube (₹5 crore), Akshdeep Nath (₹3.6 crore), and Prayas Ray Barman (₹1.5 crore). Among these three players, only Nath was given a long rope by the RCB management. However, none of them made any significant contribution in this season.

Among the overseas players, Heinrich Klaasen (₹50 lakh), Colin de Grandhomme (₹2.2 crore), and Tim Southee (₹1 crore) failed collectively in this season. Hence, we can expect RCB to release all these three overseas players.

#7 Rajasthan Royals

From left to right: Stokes, Unadkat, and Kulkarni

Rajasthan Royals, the ‘Moneyball’ franchise of IPL surprised everyone in last year’s IPL auction by spending a massive chunk of money. In particular, RR bought Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat for enormous sums of ₹12.5 crore and ₹11.5 crore respectively.

Though both of them failed in IPL 2018, RR released Unadkat alone at the end of that season. However, RR repurchased him at a slightly lesser cost of ₹8.4 crore in this year’s IPL auction.

Unfortunately, the duo once again failed to set the stage on fire. Hence, we can expect RR to repeat their last year’s auction strategy. However, this time, RR might release both the players and repurchase them back at a low cost.

Like Stokes and Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni too failed for two straight seasons. He was inconsistent in the last two editions and struggled to pick wickets with the new ball. Though RR bought Kulkarni for just ₹75 lakh, they might release him because of his inconsistent performances.

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#6 Kings XI Punjab

From left to right: Nair, Varun, Prabhsimran, Tye, and Curran

After a yet another failure in this season, we might expect Kings XI Punjab to continue with their trend of releasing a large number of players before every IPL auction.

In particular, KXIP might release three of their expensive signings - Karun Nair (₹5.6 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (₹8.4 crore), and Prabhsimran Singh (₹4.8 crore). Interestingly, all the three players managed to play only one game in this season. Henceforth, we can expect KXIP to release these three players ahead of the next season.

Andrew Tye, the Purple Cap winner of IPL 2018, had a lean patch this year. In six games, he picked up only three wickets with an expensive economy rate of 10.59. Sam Curran, the England all-rounder, had an average IPL debut season. In nine games, he picked up ten wickets including a fine hat-trick against Delhi Capitals. However, he conceded runs with an economy rate of 9.78. With the bat, he scored a quick-fire half-century against RCB.

Since both Tye and Curran have similar high price tags of ₹7.2 crore, KXIP might release either both or any one of them and repurchase them at a lesser cost in next year’s IPL auction.

#5 Kolkata Knight Riders

From left to right: Uthappa, Brathwaite, and Ferguson

Robin Uthappa, one of the most senior batsmen in the KKR setup, had a season to forget this year. In 11 innings, he managed to score 282 runs with a below-par strike rate of 115.10. His lean patch started with a sluggish knock in one of the league matches against RCB. His horrible tournament ended with a painful knock against Mumbai Indians in the last league match of the season. Since the age is not on his side, KKR might release Uthappa to increase their purse value by ₹6.4 crore.

Carlos Brathwaite was KKR’s most expensive player in this year’s IPL auction. However, the West Indian all-rounder played only two games in this season and failed to make any significant contribution. Since KKR bought him for a massive sum of ₹5 crore, they might release him ahead of the next season to increase their purse value.

To boost their pace attack, KKR bought Lockie Ferguson for a considerable sum of ₹1.6 crore in this year’s IPL auction. However, he took only two wickets in his five games with an expensive economy rate of 10.76. Hence, KKR might release him and replace him with some other quality bowler.

#4 Sunrisers Hyderabad

From left to right: Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan

David Warner and Johny Bairstow did the bulk of scoring for SRH during their stay in IPL 2019. The duo masked the weakness of SRH’s middle-order with their sublime opening partnerships and individual contributions. However, once the pair left the tournament, SRH’s middle-order came under heavy scrutiny.

In particular, the Indian middle-order pair of Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan failed collectively in this season. Despite given a long rope by the SRH management, the duo failed miserably to make any valuable contribution in this season.

In the 2018 IPL auction, SRH bought Hooda and Yusuf for ₹3.6 crore and ₹1.9 crore respectively. Since the pair did not even score 100 runs in this season, SRH might release both of them and pick some other experienced/talented players in next year’s IPL auction to boost their middle-order.

#3 Delhi Capitals

From left to right: Colin Ingram and Hanuma Vihari

Colin Ingram was Delhi Capitals’ most expensive player in this year’s IPL auction. DC bought him for a massive sum of ₹6.4 crore. However, Ingram failed miserably in this season as he scored a mere 184 runs in his 12 games with a moderate strike rate of 119.48. Besides, he was unable to score a single half-century for DC. Ingram’s high price tag and poor performances might work against his favour ahead of the next edition.

In 73 T20s, Hanuma Vihari has scored 1309 runs with just four half-centuries. Besides, a strike rate of 111.49 is way below modern standards. However, he was bought by DC in this year’s IPL auction for a considerable sum of ₹2 crore. He managed to play only two games this season and faced only eight deliveries. With several talented batters in their squad, DC might release Vihari before the start of the next season.

#2 Chennai Super Kings

From left to right: Kedar Jadhav and Mohit Sharma

Chennai Super Kings’ policy of retaining their core group of players over the years is a significant factor behind their incredible success rate. Even at the end of IPL 2018, they released only three players. Hence, we can expect CSK to repeat the same this year.

Kedar Jadhav had a horrible IPL 2019 campaign as he scored only 162 runs from 12 innings with a slow strike rate of 95.85. He was ruled out of the playoffs due to a shoulder injury. Even in the IPL 2018, he managed to play only one game and missed the rest of the tournament due to a hamstring injury. Along with Jadhav’s injury-prone record and poor performances, his massive price tag of ₹7.8 crore might force CSK to release him ahead of the next season.

CSK bought Mohit Sharma for a vast sum of ₹5 crore in this year’s IPL auction. Since the Chennai pitch assisted spin bowlers, Mohit had a minimal role to play in this season. In his only game of the season, he conceded 27 runs in his three overs and claimed one wicket. Since there are several other pace bowlers in their squad, CSK might release Mohit to increase their purse value.

#1 Mumbai Indians

From left to right: Evin Lewis and Barinder Sran

After a disappointing IPL 2018 campaign, Mumbai Indians roared back in style by winning their fourth IPL title this year. Despite a sloppy 2018 campaign, MI’s think-tank retained a majority of their core players ahead of this season. Since they lifted the trophy this season, we can once again expect them to retain their core group.

During the 2018 mega-auction, Mumbai bought Evin Lewis for a considerable sum of ₹3.8 crore. Though he had a decent debut IPL last year, he lost his place to Quinton de Kock in this season. Since Mumbai Indians have plenty of opening batsmen like de Kock, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav in their squad, they might release Lewis ahead of the next season to increase their purse value.

To strengthen their bowling attack, Mumbai bought Barinder Sran for a considerable sum of ₹3.4 crore in this year’s IPL auction. However, he was very expensive and remained wicket-less in both of his outings in this season. His high price tag and poor performances might force MI to release him ahead of the next season.