IPL 2021 Players Retention Highlights: RR release Steve Smith, KXIP let go Glenn Maxwell, RCB release Aaron Finch

That's it from us here. Hope you enjoyed the coverage. We will be back with the coverage of IPL auction next month, until then, goodbye!

RCB Trade alert: They have traded in Daniel Sams and Harshal Patel from DC

A BOLD welcome to Daniel Sams and @HarshalPatel23 as they join the RCB family for the 2021 season. 🤩#PlayBold #NowARoyalChallenger #WelcomeDanSams #WelcomeHarshalPatel #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/m6bXT9s6jp

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) January 20, 2021

Here's the list of released players team wise:

CSK - Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Shane Watson, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Monu Singh

SRH - Sanjay Yadav, Yarra Prithviraj, B Sandeep, Billy Stanlake, Fabien Allen.

DC - Jason Roy, Sandeep Lamichanne, Alex Carey, Keemo Paul, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Sharma.

RCB - Moeen Ali, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Isuru Udana, Dale Steyn, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Mann, Pavan Negi while Parthiv Patel has retired.

KKR -Tom Banton, Chris Green, Nikhil Naik, Siddesh Lad, M Siddharth

RR - Steve Smith, Ankit Rajpoot, Oshane Thomas, Akash Singh, Varun Aaron, Tom Curran, Anirudha Joshi, Shashank Singh

KXIP - Karun Nair, K Gowtham, Sheldon Cottrell, Jimmy Neesham, Hardus Viljoen, Jagadeesha Suchith, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Tajinder Singh

MI - Lasith Malinga, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell McClenaghan, Prince Balwant Rai, Digvijay Deshmukh

Rajasthan Royals lead owner Manoj Badale on captaincy:

“The Rajasthan Royals captaincy is a post for which we are lucky to have had so many greats of the game – Warne, Dravid, Watson, Rahane, and most recently Steve Smith. Steve has been a great player and great leader for the Royals, and we want to thank him for his contribution to the franchise.

“As the IPL has grown, the captaincy has become a year-round task, and as such strong local Indian leadership has become increasingly important. Sanju made his debut as a Royal, and it has been a joy to watch his development over the last 8 years. He is the ideal person to lead the Royals into the 2021 season."

Rajasthan Royals lead owner Manoj Badale on release and retention:

 “We’re happy to retain the core of our squad ahead of IPL 2021. We've got a talented group that underperformed overall last season and will be wanting to correct that. It is a well balanced squad and we are excited for the season ahead.”

“We would like to thank all of the players for their effort through the course of the previous seasons, and for always maintaining the Rajasthan Royals values. I would especially like to thank Steve Smith for everything that he has done as a leader and captain of the Royals. His contribution on the field, and his contribution off the field, especially towards the development of some of our young players, both as a captain and mentor has been immense.”

KXIP release Glenn Maxwell, Jimmy Neesham

KXIP have let go Glenn Maxwell after a poor IPL 2020. The other names they have let go are Karun nair, K Gowtham, Sheldon Cottrell, Jimmy Neesham, Hardus Viljoen, Jagadeesha Suchith, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Tajinder Singh

List of released players of Rajasthan Royals

As informed earlier, RR have let go Steve Smith while Sanju Samson has been named the new captain. The other players let go are Ankit Rajpoot, Oshane Thomas, Akash Singh, Varun Aaron, Tom Curran, Anirudha Joshi, Shashank Singh

KKR let go Tom Banton , Chris Green among three other players

KKR pretty much retain the same squad, letting go just five players - Tom Banton, Chris Green, Nikhil Naik, Siddesh Lad, M Siddharth

Here's Mike Hesson explaining RCB's retention strategy

Bold Diaries: Mike Hesson explains RCB’s Retention Strategy

Our Director of Cricket Operations, @CoachHesson gives us an insight into the thinking behind the retention and release of players. #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/GbcY5oCyiW

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) January 20, 2021

RCB release Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Umesh Yadav among others

RCB have let go a lot of players. Surprising. Among the foreign players they have let go Moeen Ali, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Isuru Udana, Dale Steyn and among the Indian players they have released Umesh Yadav, Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Mann, Pavan Negi while Parthiv Patel has retired.

IPL Retention Announcement 🔊 Here’s the news you’ve been waiting for, 12th Man Army. We have retained 12 stars from our 2020 squad. 🌟🤩#PlayBold #IPL2021 #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/YkzSV3EUjU

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) January 20, 2021