Fans are desperately waiting for IPL 2023 to get underway. The buzz around the cash-rich league is at its highest with five months to go in the competition. Ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction is all set to take place on 23rd December in Kochi. Ahead of the auction, all ten franchises have released several players to increase their purses and bid for other stars. While some players’ release was obvious due to their performance in the previous edition, but cricket news regarding release of several players raised eyebrows.
On that note, let’s take a look at the top five shocking players released ahead of the Indian T20 League 2023:
- Dwayne Bravo – The all-rounder has been an integral part of the Chennai Super Kings Franchise ever since he was brought into the side in 2011. He has been a part of three successful campaigns of the franchise in 2011, 2018 and 2021. The 39-year-old had a forgettable season with the bat in the 2022 edition where he scored 23 runs at an average of 11.50 and a strike rate of 95.83.
But he made up for his dismal performance with the bat by picking up 16 wickets at an average of 18.69 becoming the 14th-highest wicket-taker of the tournament. Despite his great performance with the ball, the franchise decided to part ways with the legendary all-rounder leaving several fans shocked.
- Mayank Agarwal – The star opener was captaining a side for the first time in 2022 as he was given the responsibility to lead the Punjab Kings franchise. The pressure of captaincy was evident on Agarwal as he failed to fire with the bat scoring only 196 runs in 13 innings at an average of 16.33 and a strike rate of 122.50.
Owing to his dismal show with the bat coupled with the franchise’s failure to qualify for the playoffs under his leadership, the management decided to release Agarwal ahead of the mini-auction. The fans were unhappy with the treatment meted out to Agarwal as he has been a consistent performer for Punjab Kings since 2019.
- Shardul Thakur – The all rounder is one of the rising stars of the Indian team as he’s performed exceptionally in all three formats in the past couple of years. However, he had an off season with both bat and ball in 2022 scoring 120 runs at an average of 15 and picking up 15 wickets at an average of 31.
Owing to his massive potential, Thakur was bought for a whopping 10.75 crore by the Delhi Capitals franchise. Ahead of the auction, he has been traded to the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in exchange of the emerging all-rounder Aman Khan. Considering his overall impact on the match, the move was shocking as Shardul Thakur can stage a great comeback in the upcoming edition.
- Jason Roy – The England opener has been having a tough time with the bat of late which saw him getting dropped from the England side for the 20-20 World Cup. He pulled out of the 2022 edition of the tournament and has been released by the Gujarat Titans Franchise ahead of the mini-auction. Considering that the 32-year-old still has a lot of cricket left in him, the move came as a shock. Roy is still one of the most destructive openers in international cricket and will look to make strong statements with his performance in the upcoming edition.
- Chris Jordan – The all-rounder has been released by the Chennai Super Kings franchise ahead of the mini-auction. But the 34-year-old has improved his game massively when it comes to bowling. The right-arm-medium bowler has the ability to bowl good yorkers at the death and could’ve been a worthy choice as a bowler for the franchise.
