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With the tour of Australia finally coming to an end, as the Indian team heads back home with the T20I series victory and the Border Gavaskar Trophy in their kitty, we shift our focus to the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with franchises having been given the deadline of Wednesday, 20 January for submitting their final list of retained and released players. [caption id=“attachment_9221391” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Representational photo. Image credit: Twitter/@IPL[/caption] Yes, IPL’s back in the news a little under three months since Mumbai Indians defeated Delhi Capitals in the final of the 2020 edition to win the title for an unprecedented fifth time. Before we return to discussing Test cricket in a few days’ time with the home series against England, we take a look at some of the players who are set to bid goodbye to their respective franchises, although they could very well be purchased right back during the IPL Player Auction that takes place next month. While it’s still a long way from coming up with the schedule and venue list, the BCCI has committed itself to hosting this year’s IPL in India after having to shift to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while this year’s event is set to remain an eight-team affair, two new sides will be introduced in the 2022 edition.
IPL 2021 Players Retention Highlights: RR release Steve Smith, KXIP let go Glenn Maxwell, RCB release Aaron Finch
Franchises have been set the deadline of Wednesday, 20 January for submitting their final list of retained and released players ahead of the IPL player auction that takes place in February.
 "IPL 2021 Players Retention Highlights: RR release Steve Smith, KXIP let go Glenn Maxwell, RCB release Aaron Finch")
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
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) January 20, 2021
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
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 Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) January 20, 2021
CSK release six players while retaining Suresh Raina:
CSK have released Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Shane Watson, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav and Monu Singh
Sunrisers Hyderabad release Billy Stanlake, Fabien Allen among other players
SRH haven’t let go off big names though as they have released Sanjay Yadav, Yarra Prithviraj, B Sandeep, Billy Stanlake, Fabien Allen.
🚨 Attention #OrangeArmy 🚨#RisersRetained for #IPL2021 📑#IPLRetention pic.twitter.com/OsPeoLnDy2
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) January 20, 2021
Delhi Capitals release Sandeep Lamichanne, Alex Carey
Delhi haven’t tinkered too much with the squad – They have released leg spinner Sandeep Lamichanne, Alex Carey, Keemo Paul among the foreign players while they have let off Indian pacers in Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Sharma.
Massive update coming in from the Rajasthan Royals camp! Sanju Samson has been appointed the captain for 2021!
A new chapter begins now. 🚨
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) January 20, 2021
Say hello to your Royals captain. #SkipperSanju | #HallaBol | #IPL2021 | #IPLRetention | @IamSanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/pukyEiyb1B
MI part ways with Coulter-Nile, Pattinson and McClenaghan
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have decided to release the seam-bowling trio of Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson and Mitchell McClenaghan. While McClenaghan hardly played a part in the victorious 2020 campaign, both Coulter-Nile and Pattinson assisted frontline seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult well and could very well be bought back by the franchise.
Glenn Maxwell released!
According to official broadcaster Star Sports, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) have decided to do away the hard-hitting batsman and part-time spinner after his low returns in the 2020 season. This despite Maxwell doing fairly well both for Australia as well as in the Big Bash League.
Additionally, Sheldon Cottrell, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Hardus Viljoen and James Neesham are some of the other foreign players released by the franchise ahead of the auction.
Earlier this month, Dale Steyn had confirmed he won’t be part of IPL 2021, although he very categorically stated at the end of the tweet that he’s “not retired” yet
Cricket tweet 🏏
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) January 2, 2021
Just a short message to let everyone know that I’ve made myself unavailable for RCB at this years IPL, I’m also not planning on playing for another team, just taking some time off during that period.
Thank you to RCB for understanding.
No I’m not retired. 🤙
“Forever a Royal” say Rajasthan Royals in a tweet with an accompanying collage of their now-former captain
Forever a Royal...💗
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) January 20, 2021
Some special memories Smudge. 🤝#RoyalsFamily | @stevesmith49 pic.twitter.com/esOSQVtAtP
Smith released by Rajasthan Royals
Things just got worse for talismanic Australia batsman Steve Smith. After his team’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of a depleted by resilient India in the four-match Test series, the latest update in the IPL 2021 Player Retention is that of Rajasthan Royals releasing their captain after the franchise finished at the bottom of the table in IPL 2020 despite some promising performances through the course of the tournament.
**Read the full report here**Dhoni’s CSK need to shed ‘Dad’s Army’ tag: Chopra
Former India opener Aakash Chopra feels it’s high time for the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who had a disappointing run last season as they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time, to make some key changes to their lineup and do away with aeging players as they announce their list of retained players.
**Click here for more**Here’s Harbhajan Singh’s official statement on Twitter on his CSK contract coming to an end
As my contract comes to an end with @ChennaiIPL, playing for this team was a great experience..beautiful memories made &some great friends which I will remember fondly for years to come..Thank you @ChennaiIPL, management, staff and fans for a wonderful 2years.. All the best..🙏
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) January 20, 2021
Harbhajan Singh parts ways with CSK
First up, we have Chennai Super Kings (CSK) off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. The veteran spinner had withdrawn his name from the 2020 edition and had not travelled with the squad to the UAE, and has since decided to step away from the franchise. It remains unseen whether he will put forth his name in the IPL Player Auction this year.
Earlier on Wednesday, Harbhajan made an official announcement on his CSK contract coming to an end. Click here to read the **full report**
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