Kings XI Punjab has dropped a bombshell as they announced the list of retained and released players ahead of the IPL auction in mid-December.
Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch, 2011 World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh and left-arm spinner Axar Patel are the big names who have been released by the franchise.
Finch and Yuvraj were both picked up by the franchise in last season’s auction while Axar Patel was a retained player.
The players retained by KXIP are only nine and it includes the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, their fiery opening duo Chris Gayle and KL Rahul and their wicket-taking options Andrew Tye and Mujeen Ur Rahman.
“We have retained all core players. We have ensured that the balance of the squad is ensured. A lot of factors came in while retaining the players,” said newly-assigned coach Mike Hesson.
A statement issued by the franchise read, “Kings XI Punjab have retained their core team ahead of next year’s VIVO Indian Premier League with nine players set to continue with the outfit.”
“The Karnataka duo of Lokesh Rahul, who was KXIP’s leading run-scorer in this year’s edition of the IPL, and Karun Nair is set to continue. Ravichandran Ashwin has been retained too.”
“From the overseas lot, wily spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Season 11 Purple Cap-holder Andrew Tye, explosive opener Chris Gayle and David Miller will don the KXIP threads again. Mayank Agarwal and Ankit Rajpoot will be the uncapped players that will be seen in Season 12 as well.”
“The team would like to thank the players who have been released for their contributions and wishes them the very best for the future.”
Here is the complete list of retained and released players by Kings XI Punjab:
Retained: Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Andrew Tye, Mayank Agarwal, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karun Nair, David Miller and Ravichandran Ashwin
Released: Aaron Finch, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Barinder Sran, Ben Dwarshuis, Manoj Tiwary, Akshdeep Nath, Pardeep Sahu, Mayank Dagar and Manzoor Dar, Marcus Stoinis (traded for Mandeep Singh)
