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Indian T20 League 2023: Four shocking releases by franchises ahead of mini-auction
Not all of the releases went down well with the fans who criticised the franchises for the poor treatment of the stars.
The Indian T20 League mini-auction is all set to take place on 23rd December, 2022 at Kochi. Ahead of the auction, all 10 franchises have released the list of players they’ve released and retained. There were several big names which were released by the franchises owing to their lacklustre performance in the last season of the T20 extravaganza. Not all of the releases, went down well with the fans who criticised the franchises for the poor treatment of the stars. On that note, let’s take a look at the top five shocking player releases ahead of the Indian T20 League mini-auction 2023:
Dwayne Bravo, Chennai
Dwayne Bravo (Source: Twitter)
The second most successful franchise in the history of Indian T20 League decided to part ways with their star allrounder Dwayne Bravo. Bravo was bought by Chennai in 2011 and the West Indian has been an integral part of the squad ever since then. He was a part of the three successful campaigns of the franchise in 2011, 2018 and 2021.
Bravo was the first player to win two purple caps in the history of the league having grabbed the award in 2013 and 2015. He also jointly holds the record for most wickets in a single season of the league i.e 32 along with Harshal Patel. Chennai’s decision to part ways with the legendary all-rounder didn’t go down well with the fans who will miss Bravo’s dancing celebrations on the field.
Shardul Thakur, Delhi
Shardul Thakur (Source: Twitter)
The all-rounder was bought for a whopping Rs 10.75 crore in the 2022 mega-auction owing to his stupendous performances in the Indian team. Thakur picked up 15 wickets in the 2022 edition at an average of 31.53 and an economy of 9.79. He also scored 120 runs with the bat at a strike rate of 137.93.
Despite the massive potential of the all-rounder, the Delhi franchise released him ahead of the mini-auction. The 31-year-old is in his prime and is expected to deliver the goods this year after a forgettable season in 2022. Thakur’s release came as a surprise to many.
Lockie Ferguson, Gujarat
Lockie Ferguson (Source: Twitter)
The Kiwi seamer is one of the most explosive seamers in international cricket going around. In the 2022 edition, he picked up 12 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 35.58 and an economy of 8.96. The 31-year-old has the ability to bowl pin-point yorkers at will making him a difficult bowler to hit at the death.
Despite his lacklustre performance in 2022, Ferguson has the potential to stage a remarkable comeback in the upcoming edition. The defending champions Gujarat might end up regretting his release in the next edition.
Kieron Pollard, Mumbai
Kieron Pollard (Source: Twitter)
Kieron Pollard was bought by Mumbai in 2010 and the all-rounder became a marquee player for his franchise in no time. He has been a part of all five successful campaigns of Mumbai.
Pollard’s consistency for Mumbai can be measured by the fact that the West Indian averaged below 20 only thrice across 13 seasons for the most successful team of the tournament. However, a lacklustre 2022 season saw him score only 144 runs in 11 innings at an average of 14.40 led to his exit from the franchise. Being a long-serving player of the franchise, fans are unhappy with an unceremonious goodbye for the West Indian.
