Wednesday, November 16, 2022

IPL retention cyclone: Houses of few franchises disrupted, while some maintain themselves amidst winds of change

There was a cyclone of retentions, releases, and trades as the IPL retention window was kept open until Tuesday. Some of the biggest players were carried away in the cyclone as Mumbai Indian released Kieron Pollard, Sunrisers released Kane Williamson, Gujarat Titans did away with the likes of Lockie Ferguson and Jason Roy, and the winds of change swept away Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, and Punjab Kings in its entirety.

The cyclone will once again take pace after more than a month’s time as the mini auctions will be held on 23 December in Kochi. However, for the time being, the winds of change have stopped flowing, and the cyclone has stopped blowing the IPL squads to pieces with the window closing on Tuesday.

IPL 2023 Player Retention: Full list of retained, released, and traded players

Several teams have released a significant number of players and are looking at an overhaul of the entire squad. Whereas, several other teams have released a few players that would have hardly played any games if retained, but retained a majority of its players.

We take a look at each of the teams and what would they need to do to have their squads cover all the bases at the auction.

We start with the champions of the last season Gujarat Titans

Gujarat Titans (GT)

The Titans have released six players from their inaugural squad that won the IPL. However, most of the players who were pivotal in their victorious campaign are still with them.

They have three foreign slots to fill, and with ₹ 19.25 crores left in the purse, that should not be too problematic.

The Titans largely have all basis covered and will only most likely look to strengthen their bench at the auctions.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)

One of the most surprising releases for LSG was West Indian all-rounder Jason Holder. Besides, LSG have also released several other significant names including Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Andrew Tye, and Dushmantha Chameera.

But they still have the core players in place and boast of several high-profile players that make their squad look dangerous on paper.

They have four overseas slots empty, and they might look to have a solid middle-order batter at the auctions. A purse of ₹ 23.35 crore should not make them feel poor and they shall be able to fulfill their wish list.

Mumbai Indians (MI)

Mumbai Indian were in the news on the last day of retention, as much as the entire retention was. And the reason was as tall and giant as Kieron Pollard.

MI are clearly looking to overhaul their squad and they have made it crystal clear discontinuing the services of Pollard, albeit only as a player.


Apart from Pollard, the franchise has done away with 12 other players and they brought back the services of Jason Behrendorff via trade from Royal Challengers Bangalore.

At the auctions, Mumbai will have a purse of ₹ 20.55 crore and will have quite a bit of shopping to do. However, their primary target will be to acquire one or two excellent spinners and an all-weather all-rounder.

If the bidding wars escalate, they might find their purse to be smaller.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

RCB letting go of Behrendorff was quite surprising, but he hardly played for the franchise and was benched more often than not. Besides, Sherfane Rutherford was the only big name they let go.

RCB have otherwise continued with the same squad and will require to do very less shopping. They shall probably look for a fast-bowling all-rounder.

A purse of ₹ 8.75 crore sounds low, but it shall be sufficient considering the team combination and their requirements.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

The rumour mills and grapevines around Ravindra Jadeja have once and for all ended as CSK announced his retention.

However, the release of Chris Jordan was quite a surprise. Probably considering that the IPL will be played in Indian conditions. Trying to out-smart their opponents, CSK have continued with their spin attack that might prove lethal on the Chepauk track.


They seem to have most bases covered, and MS Dhoni has the tendency to make an average player look like a superstar.

CSK need two more overseas players and might try to replace Jordan and Dwayne Bravo with a few pacers or all-rounders. ₹ 20.45 crore should let them do that.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

Sunrisers have released a total of 12 players including the likes of Kane Williamson and Nicholas Pooran. And they are expected to be one of the busiest at the mini-auction.

The franchise has retained the core bowling attack that is a mix of Indian and overseas bowlers. But they will look to rebuild their top and middle order alongside very few existing batters.

₹ 42.25 in their purse shall be sufficient. But, with the kind of requirement they have generated, after pressing the reset button, a bidding war might take a toll on their team combination.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

KKR were one of those franchises whose house was completely blown away by the cyclone. As many as 16 players were released including Pat Cummins and Alex Hales who opted out of the IPL.

However, the core has been maintained in Sunil Naraine, Shreyas Iyer, and Andre Russell. A few bowlers were also acquired through trade-offs to add to the existing armoury of Tim Southee and Umesh Yadav.

Nevertheless, they have quite a significant shopping to be done, and ₹ 7.05 will definitely make them feel below the poverty line at the auctions unless they have some tricks up their sleeves.


Delhi Capitals (DC)

It will be unfortunate to not see an active Delhi Capitals table at the auction. If there is anything to remember from the 2022 auction, it was the DC owner raising his pedal at every second player.

This time around, their squad looks settled and they have not made too many releases either to enter into the heavy bidding war.

The Capitals also have a purse of ₹ 19.45 crore and with not much to do at the auction, the amount definitely seems big.

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Rajasthan Royals have retained their core, but have made a big statement by releasing several big overseas names – five of their nine releases are foreign players.

Their core players, nevertheless, have all the basis covered. A formidable top order and a dynamic middle order, including world-class spin and pace attack.


But if they wish to strengthen their bench, which they should, ₹ 13.2 crores might prove to be significantly less.

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

The Kings as well surprised with the exclusion of Mayank Agarwal and Odean Smith. But they still boast of a good-looking squad with a good mix of Indian and overseas players.

They also have a big purse of ₹32.2 crore and with only three overseas players required to be added, they are expected to shop in a light-hearted manner.

An area which they might want to strengthen is their spin bowling department, as only Rahul Chahar is a recognizable name alongside all-rounder Liam Livingstone.

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