IPL 2019 Transfer Window Updates: Delhi Daredevils Let Gambhir Go
Latest updates from the player transfer window ahead of IPL 2019.
- 130 players, including 44 overseas stars, were retained by the eight IPL franchises ahead of next month’s IPL auction.
- Defending champions Chennai Super Kings made the least amount of cuts, releasing only three players.
- Kings XI Punjab went for a big overhaul, releasing 11 players including Yuvraj Singh
- Steve Smith and David Warner are set to make their IPL comebacks after being retained by their respective franchises.
Delhi Daredevils Release Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir has been released by Delhi Daredevils as part of yet another overhaul for the team ahead of IPL 2019.
The 2011 World Cup winner had returned to his maiden IPL club for the previous edition, after spending seven seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Daredevils have let go of a whopping 10 out of their 27-man roster for the 2018 edition – which saw them finish bottom of the pile for a record fourth time in 11 editions of the IPL.
RCB Release McCullum, Woakes
RCB has released four players including New Zealanders Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson, England’s Chris Woakes and uncapped Indian batsman Sarfraz Khan.
That means RCB go into next month’s player auction retaining 14 of the 20 members who formed their unit in 2018, where they finished sixth out of eight teams.
David Warner Set to Make IPL Comeback
David Warner will return to Sunrisers Hyderabad’s orange kit in the 2019 IPL after the franchise elected to retain the Aussie cricketer for the upcoming season.
Indian Test keeper Wriddhiman Saha’s injuries have cost him his IPL contract with the franchise as he has been released by the team along with England’s Alex Hales and Chris Jordan. West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite has also been returned to the IPL auction player kitty ahead of the event next month.
Kings XI Punjab Let Yuvraj Go
Yuvraj Singh, Axar Patel and Aaron Finch have been released by Kings XI Punjab for the twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League. The franchise on Thursday, 15 November, announced that it has retained 9 players, released 11 and traded one for the upcoming season.
The Karnataka duo of Lokesh Rahul, who was KXIP's leading run scorer in this year's edition of the IPL, and Karun Nair will be continuing with the team. Ravichandran Ashwin, who led Punjab in the previous edition, has been retained too.
KKR Retain 13 Players, Release Starc & Johnson
Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Tom Curran are among the eight players who have been released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and will make their way back into the IPL auction kitty for the twelfth edition of the league.
The franchise has retained 13 out of its 21-member squad that played the previous season.
Rajasthan Royals Release Unadkat, Retain Steve Smith
Steve Smith’s comeback to the IPL has been confirmed after Rajasthan Royals named him in their list of players retained for the upcoming season.
Jaydev Unadkat and D’Arcy Short are among the 10 players released by the franchise. The team has also let go of Australian batsman D’Arcy Short along with right-arm fast-medium bowler Ben Laughlin and South African wicketkeeper-Batsman Heinrich Klaasen. Besides this, the South African fast-medium bowler Dane Paterson and the chinaman Zahir Khan from Afghanistan along with Dushmantha Chameera from Sri Lanka have also been released.
Among the players who will continue to play for the franchise are Jos Buttler, Ajinkya Rahane, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Gopal, Stuart Binny, Rahul Tripathi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jofra Archer and Ish Sodhi.
Mumbai Indians Release 10 Players
Mumbai Indians have decided to retain their core of home-grown talent.
The Mumbai franchisee has retained 18 players and released 10 players, which include 1 capped, 5 uncapped and 4 international players, ahead of IPL 2019 auction.
Among international players, South Africa’s Jean-Paul Duminy has been released along with Australian fast-bowler Pat Cummins who was ruled out before the start of IPL 2018. Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman and Sri Lankan spinner Akila Dananjaya have also been released.
Mumbai Indians have also released Saurabh Tiwary, Pradeep Sangwan, Sharad Lumba, Tajinder Singh Dhillon. UP pacer Mohsin Khan and Kerala’s MD Nidheesh also find themselves in the released players’ list.
CSK Release 3 Players
The Chennai Super Kings have released three players – England’s Mark Wood and uncapped Indian players Kanishk Seth and Kshitiz Sharma. The three players had cost the defending champions Rs 1.90 crore at the auction and now the sum gets added to their kitty for the 2019 IPL auction that’s going to be held next month.
Speedster Wood played only one match for CSK last season, while Seth and Sharma did not get any outings.
Starc Released by KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders have also made some decisions in the IPL transfer window, releasing Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc, via text message.
The fast bowler was bought by the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise in the January 2018 auction for Rs 9.40 Crore but missed the entire season of IPL that followed after picking up a leg injury during Australia’s tour of South Africa that ended in March.
With the ICC World Cup starting just weeks after the IPL, Cricket Australia and the ECB are expected to not allow their players to play the entire season, and it would well be what pushed KKR to drop one of the best bowlers in the world.
Mohammad Kaif Joins Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils have roped in former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif as their assistant coach for the upcoming Indian Premier League season, the team announced on Friday, 9 November.
Kaif comes in after a stint as assistant coach to Brad Hodge at the Gujarat Lions in the 2017 IPL season. He previously led Chhattisgarh in their debut Ranji Trophy season and acted as mentor for the young team.
Shikhar Dhawan Move Confirmed
Delhi Daredevils have a new opener this season with local boy Shikhar Dhawan returning to the franchise on a trade deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Dhawan played with Daredevils in the first season of the IPL, back in 2008. Since then, he has gone on to become the league’s sixth-highest run-scorer with 4,058 runs in 143 matches, at an average of 33.26 and a strike rate of 123.53.
He spent six seasons at Sunrisers Hyderabad, captaining the team in 2014 and playing a crucial role during the team’s title-winning 2016 IPL run.
Dhawan’s return to Delhi means the team had to part ways with three players–Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma– who now move to Hyderabad as part of the trade deal.
Virender Sehwag Parts Ways With Kings XI Punjab
After mentoring the Kings XI Punjab for three seasons, Virender Sehwag on 3 November announced that he will no longer be part of their dressing room.
Sehwag's future at KXIP became unclear after the team appointed former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson on a two-year contract earlier this week, replacing Australian Brad Hodge.
The former India opener had become KXIP's mentor in 2016 after being a player for two seasons.
Dhawan Headed to Delhi?
Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan is also reportedly slated to play for a new franchise this season with Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils being seen as prospective teams.
Sunrisers Hyderabad had released him into the player pool at the big auction last January but had later used their ‘Right to Match’ card to keep him in the franchise. Dhawan was bought for Rs 5.2 crore during the 2016 auction and was the team’s second-highest scorer with 497 runs in 16 matches during IPL 11.
Kings XI are reported to have offered Dhawan a Rs 1 crore pay hike along with the barter of Karun Nair to SRH. However, with Delhi offering a higher sum, the Gautam Gambhir-led franchise are now being seen as the front-runners to sign the opener this season in a barter deal.
Delhi are reportedly ready to send Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma to Hyderabad in place of Shikhar.
Player Switch: Marcus Stoinis and Mandeep Singh
Mumbai Mirror reported more transfer movement in RCB with the Virat Kohli-led franchise trading Indian batsman Mandeep Singh for Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis from Kings XI Punjab.
Stoinis was retained by KXIP using the ‘Right to Match’ card at the auction after RCB raised the bid to a massive Rs 6.20 crore. The Aussie though could not deliver for the franchise, scoring just 99 runs in 7 matches last season. Mandeep Singh had also seen both RCB and KXIP show interest in him at the auction with RCB making the winnings bid of Rs 1.40 crore. He was the the team’s third-highest scorer behind Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, smashing 252 runs in 14 matches.
Quinton de Kock Season's First Trade
South African keeper Quinton de Kock became the 12th edition of Indian Premier League’s first trade when he was sold to Mumbai Indians earlier this month, as reported by ESPNCricinfo.
The Proteas player had been bough by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 2.8 crore in the auction last January. Reports suggest Mumbai Indians bought him for the same amount but will be releasing Bangladeshi bowler Mustafizur Rahman and Sri Lankan offspinner Akila Dananjaya to justify the buy. The Ambani-owned franchise had paid Rs 2.2 crore for Rahman and Rs 50 lakh for the Sri Lankan.
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