Ahead of next year's IPL mega auctions, while retaining a total of 27 cricketers, the 8 IPL franchises released some of the top Indian and overseas players as well.
Let's have a look at the big names who will now be up for grabs for IPL 2022:
Sunrisers Hyderabad
After consecutive underwhelming performances at the IPL stage, SRH has decided to give a new look to its team. Along with their star performer Rashid Khan, SRH also gave up their opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and David Warner.
Rajasthan Royals:
Rajasthan who retained Sanju Samson, Joss Butler and Yashasvi Jaiswal released their 2 most important overseas player, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
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Punjab Kings:
PBKS decided to let go of their skipper KL Rahul, as head coach Anil Kumble also revealed that the batter wanted to part ways with the franchise. The team also released Ravi Bishnoi and Shahrukh Khan.
Delhi Capitals:
The Delhi franchise that used all its retention options expressed displeasure over releasing their many major players. The franchise gave up Shreyas Iyer, Kagiso Rabada, R Ashwin and Shikhar Dhawan.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
The 2021 season runners-up were forced to release their star bowler Pat Cummins who was also their most expensive buy from the last season. Shubhman Gill also failed in securing his place in KKR's retention list.
Mumbai Indians:
The 5-time champions who had a poor IPL show this season released injury-marred Hardik Pandya, their young talent Ishan Kishan and Trent Boult in the hope to re-group them after the mega auctions.
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
RCB who are still struggling to get their hands on the IPL trophy have released Yuzvendra Chahal and Devdutt Padikkal. They also let go of the 2021 season's highest wicket-taker Harshal Patel.
Chennai Super Kings:
The retention policy forced the defending champions to give up a lot of their experienced players. Apart from Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo, CSK released Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur as well.