IPL 2022 Retention Mistakes
The IPL 2022 mega auction saw major squad revamps for all franchises. Teams had to make the difficult choice of retaining only four players. The choice of retaining a maximum of 3 domestic and 2 international players left teams with little choice. Another factor that goes into retention is the player’s ambition.
It’s not always that both parties arrive at a mutual decision. This often leads to players parting ways with franchises. Franchises though in all fairness should have retained a select few players who gave their all to the teams.
We look at a few such players who should have been retained:
#5 Ravi Bishnoi
He was widely regarded as the best bowler of the 2020 U-19 World Cup. Punjab Kings had no hesitation in acquiring Ravi Bishnoi in the 2021 player auctions. Bishnoi presented a strong case for himself in a middling Punjab side in the 2021 season. It was widely expected that Punjab would try to retain Bishnoi in the 2022 auctions.
But Punjab surprisingly let go of Bishnoi. The Lucknow Super Giants immediately picked up the spinner through the player draft. Bishnoi is a wonderful asset who is surely one for the future.
#4 Jonny Bairstow
The English dasher is one of the most destructive batsmen in the world across formats. He had a fruitful association with SRH whom he joined in 2019. Bairstow in fact was one of the lone bright spots for SRH in a horrid 2021 campaign. But strangely the SRH management didn’t show any inclination to either retain or buy back Bairstow in the 2022 mega auction. SRH’s loss was PBKS’ gain as they bought him in the auction at a bargain.
#3 Faf du Plessis
He had a tremendous association with the franchise right since his IPL debut in 2012. Faf du Plessis was synonymous with CSK. He played a crucial role in CSK’s twin championship wins in 2018 and 2021. Faf was the second-highest run-getter in 2021 just 3 runs behind Ruturaj Gaikwad. There was little doubt that CSK would retain Faf in the auctions. But surprisingly once the bid crossed INR 5 crores, CSK withdrew their quest. RCB eventually bought him for INR 7 crores and made him the captain.
#2 Rashid Khan
The Afghanistan spinner was one of the main match winners for SRH. He made his IPL debut in 2017 and SRH retained him in 2018 using the right-to-match card. Rashid Khan was instrumental in SRH’s successive playoff appearances from 2018-20. But Khan and
SRH couldn’t come to terms with his salary ahead of the 2022 season. SRH retained Kane Williamson as their marquee player for INR 14 crores. This didn’t sit well with Khan and SRH let go of him. The Gujarat Titans immediately bought him through the player draft for INR 15 crores.
#1 Shubman Gill
He was the Player of the tournament in the 2018 U-19 World Cup. Shubman Gill was immediately earmarked for greatness. KKR in 2018 bought three U-19 stars with a vision to groom them into future international stars. Gill had a fairly successful run with KKR in the 2018-21 cycle but questions over his strike rate and intent emerged in the latter half of 2021.
KKR in a shock move released Gill who had all the makings of a future KKR captain. GT bought Gill through the player draft and now the youngster is on the cusp of superstardom!
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