IPL 2021 player retentions created a lot of buzzes. There were a lot of speculations surrounding the player’s retentions. Fans and experts alike were keen to see how teams approach the retention rule. To everyone’s surprise, there were few announcements that did trigger controversy. Few player exclusions didn’t make any cricketing sense. They were driven either with personal ambition or shortsightedness. Here are 5 Epic Blunders In IPL.

We look at 5 such releases that might turn out to be epic blunders:

#5 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 is yet to identify an able allrounder replacement for him let alone Mumbai. His non-retention comes as a big shock.

#4 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. 

Chahal was the only bowler who had figured out bowling in a venue like Chinnaswamy. 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.

#3 Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan became the bowler he is now with SRH. He 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!

#2 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!

#1 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 was 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.