3 Highly Paid Players Who Might Be Released By Their Franchises Ahead Of IPL Auction

The auction for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to take place on December 19 in Kolkata and franchises have already started gearing up for the occasion. Few franchises have got their coaching staff replaced while few others are still in talks with others over the trading of players.

Though it has been confirmed that R Ashwin will stay with Kings XI Punjab, as confirmed by franchise’s co-owner Ness Wadia. There were reports that Delhi Capitals were in talks with Delhi Capitals to get the services of Ajinkya Rahane but there is no update on it yet.

The trading window closes on November 14 and the franchises have a month left to exchange players with other franchises.

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They also have an option to release players who they think did not do justice with the money that was paid to them. Before the auction, here’s a look at three IPL players who were paid big paychecks but they could not impress –

Shivam Dube –

Weeks before the IPL auction, Dube was tipped as the man to watch out for, courtesy his big-hitting ability. A day ahead of the auction, he hit five consecutive sixes in a Ranji Trophy match against Baroda to send a timely reminder to the IPL franchises.

Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals showed their interest in buying the all-rounder and in the end, RCB bought him for Rs 5 Crore.

Dube had a poor season as he just managed scored 40 runs off 33 deliveries that he faced. He bowled 10 deliveries in IPL 2019 in four matches. RCB rang changes after the all-rounder could not deliver in the early stage of the tournament and he did not get a chance. In all likeliness, the team management will take a call on Dube and might release him before the auction as his price is way too high.

They already have new team management with Mike Hesson overseeing the functions in the capacity of RCB’s Director of Cricket.​

Varun Chakravarthy –

Like many other mystery spinners, Chakravarthy also came in with huge promise but failed to deliver. Kings XI Punjab shelled out Rs 8.4 Crores for the leggie but the money spent on him did not fetch them benefits.

Bowling the second over of the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Chakravarthy was welcomed by Chris Lynn with a single but Sunil Narine had his plans clear. He hit the first delivery he faced for a six over long-off. In the next four deliveries, Narine further added 18 runs to the team’s tally. Chakravarthy went for 25 runs in his first over in IPL.

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In his next two overs, he gave nine runs but got dropped from the playing XI after just one match. He was later ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.

Chakravarthy neither played Tamil Nadu Premier League nor he is a part of Tamil Nadu squad in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy and has a bleak chance of being retained by the franchise.​

Shimron Hetmyer –

The left-handed batsman’s stock rose when he shone against India in the ODI series last year, where he scored 259 runs at a strike-rate of 140 with 16 sixes. Two months later, RCB spent Rs 4.2 Crores on the Caribbean batsman. After he just managed 17 runs from first four outings, the team management dropped from the playing XI.

Hetmyer spent next nine matches on the bench before making a comeback in the playing XI for the dead-rubber against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chasing 176, Hetmyer scored 75 in the successful chase.

Despite him ending the season with an impressive half-century, the team management might release him due to high price. No doubt he is a big-hitting batsman and has established himself in franchise cricket but his price might see him being released. Hetmyer, once again, could be one of the top picks in the IPL auction.