Sam Billings Posts An Emotional Message For Chennai Super Kings After Being Released

Sam Billings is one of those foreign cricketers, who became a close person to the people of Chennai. The flamboyant batsman has delivered his best for MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, which gave him enough fanbase in Chennai. However, the franchise decided to leave him ahead of IPL 2020 auction with a couple of Indian wicket-keepers available in the dugout.

Turning the clock back to 2017, after being released by Delhi franchise, CSK bought him for his base price of INR 1crore and the England international immediately clicked for them as he won a game against KKR from a tough situation – he made 56 runs off just 23 balls – in a high-pressure run chase.

Billings was a given a decent run, but he failed to convert starts and eventually lost his place to Faf du Plessis towards the business end of the tournament. He was retained for the 2019 edition by the franchise but injury and the national commitments have seen him missing the major part of the series.

A young and energetic cricketer, Billings has shown his affinity towards limited-overs cricket. His ability to play spin and control the situations has given him a green signal from the team management but the balance of the team was something, which worked against him during the course of the tournament.

Franchise has a very special place in my heart – Sam Billings

Meanwhile, after being released, Sam Billings took to Twitter to thank Chennai Super Kings, which gave him enough memories to cherish for a long time. Further, he recollected the knock which he played on his debut to win it for the team from a difficult position.

“I want to thank everyone involved @chennaiipl for 2 absolutely incredible years; winning the @iplt20 & then runners up. I learnt so much and loved every minute,” said Billings. This franchise has a very special place in my heart, and I am hugely grateful for the opportunity they gave me. That debut night at the Chepauk will always be one of my favourite memories on a cricket field,” he added.

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I want to thank everyone involved @chennaiipl for 2 absolutely incredible years; winning the @iplt20 & then runners up. I learnt so much and loved every minute. This franchise has a very special place in my heart, and I am hugely grateful for the opportunity they gave me. That debut night at the Chepauk will always be one of my favourite memories on a cricket field. Thankyou @cskfansofficial for all the #Yellove ? #ThambiSambi

A post shared by Sam Billings (@sambillings) on Nov 15, 2019 at 3:24am PST

Alongside Sam Billings, CSK have left 4 other players as well namely David Willey, Mohit Sharma, Dhruv Shorey and Chaitanya Bishnoi. Apart from them, the all-rounder Scott Kugglejin’s contract was also terminated with Lungi Ngidi set to make his way back to the team.

Now, CSK are left with a total purse of 14.6 Cr for 2020 auction. They had 3.2 Cr left after the 2019 auction besides 3 Cr additional purse for the upcoming auction. After releasing five players, 8.4 Cr has been added to their total purse for auction at Kolkata.