IPL 2019: One Player From Each Team Who Should Not Have Been Released - Part 1

While the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League, which is due to take place in 2019, may not be around the corner, the franchises have already announced their pre-auction squads and released a number of players.

The most common reasons for these players to be released are lack of performance in IPL 2018 and unavailability for a significant portion of IPL 2019 due to international commitments and the ICC Cricket World Cup.

However, even though there were legitimate reasons for franchises to make certain releases, others seem to have less sound reasoning behind them and some of these may even some inexplicable to fans. This slideshow looks at one player from each franchise that could have potentially added immense value to the squad and seemingly did not deserve to be released.

Note: Part 1 of this Article Series covers the following teams: Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, and Rajasthan Royals. The remaining four teams will be covered in Part 2 of the series.

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Mumbai Indians - Akila Dananjaya

While it is true that Akila Dananjaya, the 'mystery spinner' from Sri Lanka, played a solitary game for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 and went wicketless in that game, he has had a stellar year with performances across formats, and there is much indication that, if given the right opportunities, he can be a star in the Indian Premier League.

Given that the only other choices for first choice spinners in the Mumbai Indians' squad are the inexperienced Mayank Markande - who, despite performing well last season, tapered off after the first few games - and completely untested Rahul Chahar, Akila Dananjaya's presence as a world-class mystery spinner could have been instrumental.

Even though his services were not required this year largely due to the Mayank Markande's heroics, having an assured and reliable international spinner like him in the squad would have been immense for the Mumbai Indians' depth.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Quinton de Kock

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Firstly, to clarify, while Quinton de Kock has been sold to the Mumbai Indians and not just released without a contract like most other releases, the fact that the Royal Challengers Bangalore made a decision to sell him in exchange for a certain cash sum means that he fulfills the requirements as per this article to be considered a 'released player'.

Despite the fact that Quinton de Kock had a disappointing IPL campaign in 2018, there is clear indication to suggest that he has the potential to be a matchwinner in the IPL and would have performed far better in 2019.

Further, the fact that most, if not all, other world-class wicketkeeper-batsmen are already contracted with other teams and de Kock is a far better option that RCB's other alternatives such as Parthiv Patel makes him even more of a valuable player.

Quinton de Kock has previously been an extremely successful player in the IPL for the Delhi Daredevils and at the international stage for South Africa, and releasing such a high-quality player on the basis of one poor season could prove to be costly for the RCB.

Delhi Daredevils - Mohammed Shami

Despite the fact that the Delhi Daredevils have released several other seemingly key players, such as Glenn Maxwell, Jason Roy, and Gautam Gambhir, it is the release of Mohammed Shami which seems to be the most inexplicable, especially considering that they used one of their two available right-to-match cards on him in the previous year's auction.

While it is true that Mohammed Shami has been unspectacular in the past few editions of the IPL for the Delhi Daredevils and that the shortest format of the game has not traditionally been his friend, as a bowler, Shami appears to be in the best place he has ever been in and has also received a recall to India's ODI side.

Even though form in the Test format may not directly translate into performance in the T20 format, it is worth noting that Shami has taken 33 wickets in 8 Tests this year, and has been in red-hot form as a wicket-taking option.

Further, instead of being used at the death the way he has traditionally been, if he was used for his entire quota with the new ball as a wicket-taking option - similar to the way the likes of Umesh Yadav and Deepak Chahar were used in IPL 2018 - he would have far more success and far better numbers.

Therefore, while Shami has not been the most valuable player in the IPL, the Daredevils should not have released him and instead attempted to utilise his services in a better way.

Rajasthan Royals - Jaydev Unadkat

The presence of Jaydev Unadkat - the left-arm pacer from Saurashtra who went for a whopping 11.3 crores in last year's auction - was vital in the Rajasthan Royals squad. However, despite this, he has been released from the squad.

Firstly, it must be acknowledged that that Jaydev Unadkat had an extremely ordinary season in IPL 2018 (11 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 9.65); however, his past track record in the IPL along with impressive form in the domestic season thus far should have warranted him a place in the side.

In the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, Unadkat took 16 wickets in 8 games at an impressive economy rate of 4.27. Further, he has had a good start to the Ranji Trophy season, taking 7/86 in an innings in Saurashtra's first match against Chattisgarh.

While these numbers are not earth-shattering, they should have been enough to warrant a place in the side for a player with a track record as stellar and consistent as that of Jaydev Unadkat's.