IPL: One Player Each Team Regrets Releasing
Published - 21 Jun 2021, 01:48 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:48 AM

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Since its inception in 2008, the Indian Premier League has witnessed 14 seasons for far. The 14th season, IPL 2021, was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and postponed after 29 matches. The 2nd leg of the tournament will be conducted in September-October this year. So far, Mumbai Indians is the most successful team in IPL with 5 titles in their kitty. They are followed by Chennai Super Kings with 3 trophies and Kolkata Knight Riders with 2 titles.
IPL has given a platform to many players to bag the limelight in the T20 format. In the past, there were many players who earned accolades for their outstanding performances in the Indian Premier League.
There are also some players who were released by their franchise due to their poor performance. However, they bagged the spotlight with astonishing performances later. Here we take a look at one player each IPL team regrets releasing.
IPL: One Player Each Team Regrets For Releasing
Mumbai Indians- Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo was part of Mumbai Indians from IPL 2008 to 2010 edition. The five-time champions did not retain the West Indies cricketer in the 2011 edition. This can be called a big mistake as Bravo later emerged as the most successful all-rounder in the Indian Premier League.
In the 2013 and 2015 season, Bravo was the highest wicket-taker with 32 and 26 wickets respectively. The Caribbean cricketer is also the first player to score 1000 runs and pick 100 wickets in the Indian Premier League.
Chennai Super Kings- Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye was part of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2015. After a two-year suspension for the next two seasons, Chennai Super Kings had a chance to retain two of its overseas players in the 2018 edition. The MS Dhoni-led side went ahead of Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo.
However, Andrew Tye came up with a spectacular performance in the 2018 edition. Playing for Kings XI Punjab, he scalped most 24 wickets in the season at an economy of 8. The Australian pacer also won the purple cap after finishing as the highest wicket-taker.
Kolkata Knight Riders- Chris Gayle

For Kolkata Knight Riders, it is Chris Gayle that the franchise regrets to release. The West Indies cricketer was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three seasons. The franchise released him ahead of IPL 2011 and he found a place in Royal Challengers Bangalore.
For the next two seasons, Gayle was the highest run-scorer with 608 runs in 2012 and 733 runs in the 2013 edition. The left-handed batsman also finished as the 2nd highest run-scorer in the 2013 season with 708 runs. He also single-handedly led Royal Challengers Bangalore to many victories with his hard-hitting batting.
Rajasthan Royals- Shane Watson

Shane Watson is one of the best all-rounders that IPL has seen. The Australian player was part of Rajasthan Royals since the debut edition in 2008. He also led the team later. However, following the two-year suspension in 2016 and 2017, Rajasthan Royals did not choose to retain Watson in the team.
He became part of the Chennai Super Kings in the 2018 edition. He was a key member behind CSK’s journey to title victory in the 2018 season. He scored 555 runs in the season with 2 centuries, followed by 398 and 299 in the 2019 and 2020 seasons respectively.
Sunrisers Hyderabad- Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan, who is part of Delhi Capitals currently, earlier represented Sunrisers Hyderabad. The left-handed batsman played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 6 seasons. However, it was reported that Dhawan wasn’t happy with his salary with the franchise.
Instead of sorting out the issues, the franchise traded Shikhar Dhawan to Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2019. They got Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, and Shahbaz Nadeem in return.
However, releasing Dhawan from the squad was not a good decision. Dhawan smashed 521 runs in IPL 2019 ending as the 4th highest run-scorer. In the 2020 edition, he smashed 618 runs to finished as 2nd highest run-scorer. Even in the 2021 season, Dhawan was the leading run-scorer before the tournament got suspended.
Royal Challengers Bangalore- KL Rahul

The highest run-scorer of the last season, KL Rahul, was once a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore. KL Rahul played for RCB in the 2016 season. He smashed 5 half-centuries in the season. However, the Virat Kohli-led side did not retain him in IPL 2018 auction for rather went for Sarfaraz Khan.
This emerged as a big mistake for the franchise as KL Rahul is one of the best batsmen in the Indian Premier League currently. He has been part of Punjab Kings since 2018 and now leads the team.
In the 2018 edition, he scored 659 runs in 14 games, followed by 593 in the 2019 season. The right-handed batsman was the highest run-scorer in IPL 2020 with 670 runs in 14 games.
Delhi Capitals- AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers was part of Delhi Capitals from IPL 2008 to 2010. The former South African batsman has a good season in 2009, smashing 465 runs in 15 matches along with a century. However, Delhi Capitals released him ahead of the 2011 auction and RCB bought him.
The right-handed batsman emerged as one of the greatest batsmen in IPL history. He is among the strongest finisher and hard-hitters in the tournament. The wicketkeeper-batsman has been part of RCB since the 2011 edition. He has scored 5056 runs in 162 innings with along 3 centuries and 40 half-centuries.
Punjab Kings- Sam Curran

Punjab Kings picked Sam Curran in IPL 2019 auction for Rs. 7.2 crore. The English all-rounder has a decent show for the team with 10 wickets in 9 games. However, the franchise released him ahead of IPL 2020, and Curran was picked by Chennai Super Kings.
He emerged as the highest wicket-taker for Chennai Super Kings in the 2020 season with 13 wickets in 14 games while also hitting 186 runs. With his ability to pick wickets at regular intervals and hit big shots as a tailender, Sam Curran is proved himself to be a crucial all-rounder for CSK in the tournament.
Tagged:
Indian Premier League (IPL) KL Rahul Mumbai Indians (MI) Punjab Kings Sam Curran Shane Watson Shikhar DhawanAbout the Author

Vikas Singh Derek has been working for Cricketaddictor since February 2021. He has written over 12,0... Read more