The much-awaited event of the Cricket fraternity is all set to commence after 20 days! The IPL 2024 auction is all set to be hosted in Dubai on the 19th of December. And ahead of the high-octane auction, there have been some shocking trades & releases of players made by the franchisees. Most big names were released by their respective franchisees due to their underwhelming results. While certain players were axed by the franchisees even after delivering nailing performances.
Some releases were unbelievable for fans as their performance wasn’t undermining to get eliminated from the franchisees retained list. But as we say, surprises are part & parcel of the game of cricket. So let’s have a look at some shocking releases made by the IPL franchisees ahead of the IPL 2024 Auction.
Top 5 Shocking Releases made by IPL franchisees ahead of IPL 2024 Auction
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Adil Rashid (Surnisers Hyderabad)
One of the most shocking releases made by the franchisees ahead of the IPL 2024 Auction is of Adil Rashid by Sunrisers Hyderabad. England’s prolific spinner, Adil made his debut for SRH against RR at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in 2023. After their first game, he played against LSG & in both matches he looked decent with the ball & managed to scalp crucial wickets but despite his good run with the ball, the SRH team opted to bench him for the entire IPL 2023.
He ended the season with two wickets at an economy of 8.00. SRH’s decision to bench the prolific spinner was not received well by many fans. As they knew that he could give a run for money to his opponents. After the conclusion of Lucknow Super Giants, former India Coach Anil Kumble too thought that Rashid was not used to the fullest by the franchise.
After underutilising Rashid’s services in the IPL 2023, SRH has not retained him for the upcoming season of the league. After their shocking decision, SRH fans are criticizing the franchisee for their unexpected poor move. They have a history of releasing well-deserving players just as they released Rashid Khan & David Warner in their previous editions. Both the players are doing well in Gujarat Titans & Delhi Capitals guiding their respective teams to glorious wins.
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Wanindu Hasaranga (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Occupying the second spot on the list of shocking releases by the franchisees is Wanindu Hasaranga. The heart & soul of Sri Lankan cricket, Hasaranga has been released by RCB ahead of the much-awaited auction. RCB invested 10.75 crores in Hasaranga & he delivered effective results scalping 26 wickets in 16 matches at an economy of 7.54 to end up as the leading wicket-taker of the 15th edition of the league.
In IPL 2023, Hasaranga has played eight matches & scalping nine wickets at an economy of 8.90. But just one average performance couldn’t undermine a prolific all-rounder’s caliber. He has stepped up & delivered when the team needed his services the most. But the franchisee didn’t pay heed to his outstanding performances & released him ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. He will surely be on the list of other leading franchisees who will be aiming to spend huge money in the auction for Hasaranga’s services. Notably, Hasranga has been out of action since August 2023 due to a hamstring injury. And thus he failed to feature for Sri Lanka in the World Cup 2023.
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Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
RCB has stirred a storm with its decisions ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. One more player of the RCB team has cut into the list of shocking releases made by franchisees ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. Hazlewood was a crucial part of RCB’s pace attack in the last two seasons & he delivered as per the team’s expectations. He claimed 23 wickets at an economy of 8.16 in 15 matches. Wearing a gleaming RCB jersey for the first time in 2022 he ended up as the second-highest wicket-taker for the team with 20 wickets in 12 matches.
Hazlewood didn’t have an ideal start to IPL 2023 as he missed its first part due to a heel injury. In the second half of the tournament, he couldn’t create the magic & ended up with three wickets at an economy of 8.44 in three matches. Due to his average performance in IPL 2023, RCB has chosen to release him ahead of IPL 2024 Auction.
The way RCB is treating its players is not going well with the RCB fans as they are just losing some good players of their team just by judging them on a single season’s performance. Hazlewood was one of the top performers in the ODI World Cup 2023 & his exclusion comes as a bad move from the franchise. He has scalped 16 wickets in 11 matches at an economy of 4.81. Will Hazlewood be able to drag a big deal in the IPL 2024 auction or RCB will realize their mistake & get him back in the auction? All will be known on the 19th of December.
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Umesh Yadav (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Another shocking release by the franchisees ahead of the IPL 2024 Auction is Umesh Yadav. One of the big names of the Indian Cricket team who has turned the heads around during ICC ODI World Cup 2023 has been released from KKR. The star-studded Kolkata Knight Riders franchise bought his services for a huge amount of 2 crores in 2022. And he delivered as per the team’s expectations by scalping 16 wickets at a good economy in that respective season. But coming to the last season of the league he could play just 8 matches & scalped one wicket. His underwhelming performance might have forced the franchisee to release him ahead of the marquee IPL 2024 auction.
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Harry Brook (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Sunrisers Hyderabad shedded a huge amount in buying the services of Harry Brook in the IPL 2023. Brook was one of the most expensive players bought in IPL 2023 auctions. He was bought by the SRH franchise for a whopping amount of 13.25 crores. But with the amount of faith & expectations the franchise has put in him, it seemed like he failed to get going on it. His poor performance in the IPL 2023 is one of the major reasons why Surnsiers Hyderabad decided to part ways with Brook.
With the bat, the player could just amass 190 runs in 11 matches which was not up to the mark for the franchise. And when the team was aiming to qualify for the IPL 2023 knockouts this kind of performance is what they have never expected. All the factors & an urge to rise on the ladder in the IPL 2024 propelled SRH to release him from the team. Harry Brook’s shocking release made him a screenshot on the list of top shocking releases made by the franchisees ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
These are the top 5 shocking releases made by the franchises with the IPL 2024 auction in the picture. The motive of franchisees releasing underwhelming or sometimes key players is to enter the auction with a huge price & build a strong team for a new season ahead.
What do you think about these unexpected releases made by the franchise? Share with us in the comments section below & let us know your opinion of it. If you have some other surprising releases made by the franchisees that you think can become a part of this list then don’t hesitate to share it.
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