IPL 2021: 5 players RR should release ahead of the auction

#3 Tom Curran (IPL 2020)

Tom Curran has struggled in his IPL career thus far.

Although his younger brother Sam was the talk of the town for his stellar all-round performances, England bowling all-rounder Tom Curran had a difficult IPL outing - as has been the trend internationally in recent times. Starting his IPL career as Mitchell Starc's replacement at the Kolkata Knight Riders, Curran was snagged by RR in 2020 for his base price.

Curran was lucky to get a few opportunities at the start of the season in Ben Stokes' absence but squandered them. A fifty with the bat in a big loss to the Knight Riders was all he could be proud of, as he picked up just three wickets at an economy rate of 11.44 in the season. Though IPL franchises might want someone with Curran's skills, RR would want to look past him for more promising and consistent pacemen.

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#2 Robin Uthappa (IPL 2020)

Robin Uthappa endured another poor IPL season with the bat.

Once a bedrock of the Kolkata Knight Riders batting unit, Robin Uthappa was unceremoniously released after a miserable season with the bat in 2019. He notoriously compiled a 47-ball 40 as KKR slumped to defeat in a critical league game. Brought in to serve in an unfamiliar position - the middle order - for RR, it was anybody's guess that Uthappa would struggle.

An inspired move to shift him to his preferred opening spot briefly yielded dividends, as Uthappa's strike rate rose. However, it was too little, too late for RR, as they slumped to their first bottom finish in IPL history. Close to becoming an IPL discard, it remains to be seen if Uthappa will have any takers next season.

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#1 Steve Smith (IPL 2018-2020)

Smith failed as a batsman and leader in 2020.

One of RR's pillars before and after their two-year suspension from the IPL, Steve Smith, had to endure another year off due to the "Sandpapergate" scandal. Appointed as their captain taking over from Ajinkya Rahane, Smith has been unable to inspire the franchise or replicate his 2017 efforts with the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant.

Though Smith, like RR, started the 2020 IPL season well, his form tapered off as he found himself getting dismissed early more often than not. He only added one fifty to the ones he hit in the first two games, as RR once again became over-reliant on Jos Buttler at the top. Teams at the bottom tend to make big decisions, and given the hefty INR 12.5 crore investment in Smith, RR might not be too far away from one.