Today, it is the last day for all the IPL franchises to release and retain players ahead of the 2021 auction. The auction will take place on 11th of the February. BCCI had given 20th January as the last date to release, retain and trade players. Now, the IPL 2021 list of released players has been revealed.
In 2020, CSK had their worst tournament in the 13-year history of the cash-rich league. For the first time franchise failed to qualify for the play-offs. After the humiliating performance, big changes were expected from the 3-time champions. A team filled with senior players was losing its ability to dominate youngsters’ format. CSK has retained its two pillars, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. There were rumors of a conflict between Raina and CSK management. But with the news of retention of the southpaw, it’s clear now that all is well between the two. CSK has released 7 players which include retired Shane Watson while retained a total of 18 players. Here is the list of Chennai’s released players ahead of the IPL 2021 auction.
IPL 2021 list of released players of CSK
Harbhajan Singh: The right-arm off-break bowler had missed the IPL 2020 season. He is now in his 40s and his lack of activeness in cricket has led CSK to reach this decision. Harbhajan confirms the news with a tweet, “As my contract comes to an end with CSK playing for this team was a great experience”
Kedar Jadhav: The batsman who had a forgettable season last year will see his name in the IPL 2021 list of released players. The 35-year old could score 62 runs in 8 matches. He faced backlash for his slow knocks and lack of intent. However, this week Maharashtra batsman played an unbeaten 84run knock-in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but that didn’t help him to bag a retention ticket.
Murali Vijay: Once the star batsman of CSK, Murali Vijay now struggling to score a decent knock. In the last 3 seasons, the attacking batsman has mostly warmed the bench due to miss-opportunities. CSK finds him unworthy to retain for the upcoming season.
Piyush Chawla: In 2020, CSK had to pick one leg-spinner between Chawla and Imran Tahir. And the Indian spinner got the advantage due to the 4-foreign players rule. But mostly he missed the opportunities and economy rate was too costly. Spinner finds himself in the list of Chennai Super Kings’ released players for IPL 2021.
Monu Kumar Singh: In last season Monu Kumar got to play his first match after warming the bench for 2 years. In 2018, the Jharkhand bowler was bought by CSK for the base price of 20 lakh. In his only match for the MS Dhoni-led side, he went wicketless. Now, the franchise has released the player and will be eligible for the auction.
Retained players of Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina (vc), Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi, Ambati Rayudu, Karn Sharma, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, R Sai Kishore