The deadline for submitting retained and released players’ lists for all the ten franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was ended on Tuesday. The biggest name among the players who were released by their teams was New Zealand star, Kane Williamson.
Williamson, who captained the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the previous two editions of the cash-rich league, was released by the Orange Army. The Tauranga-born was retained by the Sunrisers for INR 15 crore ahead of the 2022 mega-auctions.
After being released by the franchise he captained, Williamson was asked if it would impact his T20 career. The 32-year-old said there are various options, as too many leagues are around, so being released by an IPL franchise won’t leave a significant impact.
“No, not really. There are a lot of competitions around the world, and the IPL is certainly an amazing completion to be a part of. You see players play for different teams all the time. There are a lot of options, a lot of cricket, so for me, I love playing all formats,” said Williamson, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Williamson said he wasn’t taken aback by the retention list as he had already conversed with the Sunrisers’ management regarding their decision.
“That’s the way it goes, I had a really enjoyable time at SRH, and I have a lot of fond memories. It wasn’t a surprise when it [retention list] was officially released,” added Williamson.
Notably, the Sunrisers had named Williamson their full-time captain ahead of the IPL 2022 season following a fallout with former skipper David Warner. Overall, the New Zealander represented the Sunrisers for eight seasons, during which he scored 2021 runs at an average of 36.22 and a strike rate of 126.03. Williamson led the team in 46 of the 76 matches he played. Under his leadership, SRH’s best finish was runner-up in IPL 2018.
