IPL 2022 player retentions have been the talk of the town. The retentions were largely on the expected lines for the most part. Teams that pride themselves on core group and legacy made the most obvious choices. It was tricky for almost all the teams to make the right call. lets look at 5 Players Who Deserved To Be Retained In IPL 2022
Few of the teams at this point in time seem to have taken the plunge based on faith rather than conviction. Fans have not taken lightly to the refusal of teams to address players’ interests. Certain exclusions and non-retentions haven’t gone down well with them. Experts and fans in equal measure believed certain players surely deserved to be retained.
We look at 5 Players Who Deserved To Be Retained In IPL 2022
#5 Jofra Archer
Rajasthan Royals picked Jofra Archer in the 2018 mega auctions. Archer wasn’t that big name in world cricket back then. The Royals picked him more on potential than performance at that stage. But Archer gave his all to the franchise. He made his impact felt in the very first season itself picking up 15 wickets in 10 games. But it was the following two seasons where Archer really came onto his own.
He picked up 20 wickets in the 2020 season to go with his crucial lower-order runs that he struck at 179.36. Archer even won the ‘Most Valuable Player’ award in 2020. An elbow injury ruled him out of the IPL 20221. The royals admitted that owing to his injury scare they didn’t retain him. But for a player of his calibre and the loyalty that he shared, he should surely have been retained.
#4 Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada singlehandedly turned around Delhi’s bowling unit into a fearsome one. He carried the bowling department on his shoulders alone especially in 2019 when he picked up 25 wickets in just 12 games. Rabada went one better in 2020 picking up 30 wickets and ended up with the purple cap.
His partnership with his South African counterpart, Anrich Nortje was a visual delight. One mixed season has cost Rabada dearly. This is one underrated exclusion that hurt the fans.
#3 Harshal Patel
Harshal Patel made his IPL debut in 2012 with RCB. He had a prominent season with Delhi in 2018 wherein he featured in 5 games but created an impact. RCB traded Patel from Delhi ahead of the 2021 season. Patel had a breakthrough season picking 32 wickets in just 15 games. He then went on to make his India debut. It was widely expected that RCB will retain him but it wasn’t meant to be.
#2 Shreyas Iyer
Delhi picked up Shreyas Iyer in 2015. Iyer was a far more flamboyant batsman then. He won the emerging player of the season award as he smashed 439 runs in 14 games. Delhi had soon earmarked him as a player for the future. He was one of the 3 players that Delhi retained in 2018.
Iyer was soon handed the captaincy of a troubled and unsure Delhi outfit. But Iyer led them with aplomb. He led Delhi to the playoffs for two successive seasons. Iyer remains the only Delhi captain to lead them into an IPL final. But an untimely injury ahead of the 2021 season turned the tables around for him.
DC appointed Rishabh Pant as captain in his absence. While Iyer made a comeback in the 2nd leg, the management were keen to continue with Pant as captain. This was the first sign of friction that eventually resulted in Iyer not wanting to continue. DC could have handled the issue better and looked at retaining someone who was a big part of their present and the future.
#1 David Warner
The fallout between David Warner and SRH was one of the most disappointing stories of IPL 2021. Warner was SRH’s talisman. He led them to their only IPL title in 2016 where he scored 848 runs.
If there ever was a captain who gave it his all to a franchise then that was Warner. He won 3 orange caps in 5 seasons. Warner was a run bank that SRH always counted on. But owing to internal bitter battles, Warner’s SRH run came to an end. The franchise didn’t give the man his due. A legacy was shattered!
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