IPL teams finalized their retentions yesterday. Teams like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Delhi retained the maximum possible number of players (4). While Bangalore, Rajasthan, and Hyderabad opted to retain 3. Punjab was the only franchise to retain just 2 players. Here is 5 Controversial Non-Retentions.

The retentions were largely on the expected lines but there were few non-retentions that raised a lot of eyebrows. It didn’t go down well with fans nor did it make cricketing logic. 

We look at 5 such controversial non-retentions that raised plenty of eyebrows:

#5 Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill was touted to be the next KKR captain. He was part of KKR’s leadership group. Gill showcased his tremendous talent during the Australia tour winning accolades from all corners. He has been the cornerstone of KKR’s batting in the last cycle. Gill accumulated 1417 runs across 4 seasons. 

His dipping strike rate was a matter of concern but Gill is too good a talent to be judged solely on basis of that parameter. The sudden rise of Venkatesh Iyer proved to be his undoing. Iyer piped Gill to the retention post. Loyalty didn’t matter much as Gill was shown the door. 

#4 Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan has emerged as one of the finest finishers in the domestic circuit. He showcased his class in the SMAT 2021 finals too smashing a six off the final ball to win the trophy. Punjab Kings who acquired Khan in the 2021 mini-auctions failed to utilise his talent completely. 

He hardly got chances to bat and strangely was even dropped from the XI on a few occasions. Khan could have been the middle-order bat around which the team could have been built. But negotiations with him seemed to have fallen through. This was another shocking non-retention.

#3 Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal has been Bangalore’s major weapon for close to a decade now. He bowled with a lot of heart in a small ground like Chinnaswamy. Chahal along with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were considered the 3 pillars of RCB.

Year after year he kept toiling regardless of the returns. He has 139 wickets to his name at an average of 22.28. For a wrist spinner, his economy rate of 7.59 is commendable. Hence it made his exclusion all the more shocking.

#2 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya made his IPL debut with Mumbai Indians in 2015. Pandya since then has gone on to be a vital cog in their setup. He has played a stellar role in MI’s 4 title wins from 2015-20. His career went on an overdrive with him making his India debut in 2016. 

Pandya ever since has never really looked back. His strike rate of 153.91 with the bat signifies his importance as a finisher. He had the tendency to pick crucial wickets too. India are yet to identify an able allrounder replacement for him let alone Mumbai. His non-retention comes as a big shock.

#1 Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan was synonymous with Hyderabad. He was their gun bowler who won them many games singlehandedly. Khan was SRH’s trump card. He made his IPL debut in 2017 and since then, there hasn’t been a single season where he has picked less than 17 wickets. Khan is a solid lower-order batter too. He threw himself on the field plucking catches out of nowhere. 

Hence it came as a huge surprise that SRH won’t be retaining Rashid. There are speculations that he wanted to be retained as the number 1 player. He deserved that right as he was their premier player by a country mile!

Also read: IPL 2022 Retention: Retained Players List, Salaries And Purse Remaining