IPL 2015: Delhi Daredevils Release Kevin Pietersen, Ross Taylor, Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay
Kevin Pietersen and Dinesh Karthik, who fetched Rs. 9 crore and 12.50 crore respectively are two 'surprise' big names to be deemed surplus by the Delhi Daredevils ahead of the 2015 season. The team had finished last in the 2014 season - two wins in 14 games.
Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Daredevils released four players - including superstar Kevin Pietersen - for the 2015 season of the T20 tournament. Kiwi international Ross Taylor, wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay have also been released.
After releasing Pietersen ahead of the 2014 season, Delhi had used their 'right to match' option to reclaim his services for Rs. 9 crore in the player auctions and handed him captaincy. Pietersen, fresh from loggerheads with England coach Andy Flower, expressed his delight to work with Delhi's coach Gary Kirsten. The partnership, however, has been cut short after Pietersen endured a poor season with the bat in 2014. He scored just 294 runs in 11 matches at an uncharacteristic average of 29.40.
Wicketkeeper Karthik fetched a whopping Rs. 12.50 crore bid from the Delhi Daredevils, the second highest after Bangalore paid Rs. 14 crore for Yuvraj Singh in 2014. Karthik, however, couldn't justify the price tag, scoring just 325 runs in 14 matches at an average of 23.21 and has been let go off.
In the two-day player auction for the 2014 season of IPL, Kiwi international Taylor had failed to attract any bids on the first day, but was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils for the base price of Rs. 2 crore on the second day. Opportunities were few and far in between as Taylor featured in just 4 matches, aggregating 59 runs at an average of 19.66.
Indian Test opener Vijay, who made a switch to Delhi after spending six years at the Chennai Super Kings, was picked up for Rs. 5 crore. However, with just one fifty in 11 games at an average of 18.81, the Delhi management have deemed him surplus to their requirements.
The Delhi Daredevils, who revamped their entire squad last season will have an additional 28.50 crore to spend in the auction ahead of the 2015 season.
Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Daredevils released four players - including superstar Kevin Pietersen - for the 2015 season of the T20 tournament. Kiwi international Ross Taylor, wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay have also been released.
After releasing Pietersen ahead of the 2014 season, Delhi had used their 'right to match' option to reclaim his services for Rs. 9 crore in the player auctions and handed him captaincy. Pietersen, fresh from loggerheads with England coach Andy Flower, expressed his delight to work with Delhi's coach Gary Kirsten. The partnership, however, has been cut short after Pietersen endured a poor season with the bat in 2014. He scored just 294 runs in 11 matches at an uncharacteristic average of 29.40.
Wicketkeeper Karthik fetched a whopping Rs. 12.50 crore bid from the Delhi Daredevils, the second highest after Bangalore paid Rs. 14 crore for Yuvraj Singh in 2014. Karthik, however, couldn't justify the price tag, scoring just 325 runs in 14 matches at an average of 23.21 and has been let go off.
In the two-day player auction for the 2014 season of IPL, Kiwi international Taylor had failed to attract any bids on the first day, but was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils for the base price of Rs. 2 crore on the second day. Opportunities were few and far in between as Taylor featured in just 4 matches, aggregating 59 runs at an average of 19.66.
Indian Test opener  Vijay, who made a switch to Delhi after spending six years at the Chennai Super Kings, was picked up for Rs. 5 crore. However, with just one fifty in 11 games at an average of 18.81, the Delhi management have deemed him surplus to their requirements.
The Delhi Daredevils, who revamped their entire squad last season will have an additional 28.50 crore to spend in the auction ahead of the 2015 season.
Team-wise list of released players:
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Total Purse: Rs 21 cr): Amit Mishra, Aaron Finch, Darren Sammy, Irfan Pathan, Jason Holder, Y Venugopal Rao, Bernard Taylor, Prashant Parmeshwaran, Aniruddh Srikkanth, Manprit Juneja
Mumbai Indians (Total Purse: Rs 10 cr): Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Jalaj Saxena, CM Gautham, Sushant Marathe, Apurv Wankhede, Krishmar Santokie, Ben Dunk.
Chennai Super Kings (Total Purse: Rs 5 Crore): Ben Hilfenhaus, John Hastings, Vijay Shankar, David Hussey
Delhi Daredevils: (Total Purse: Rs 41 cr): Kevin Pietersen, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ross Taylor, Jaydev Unadkat, Rahul Sharma, Jimmy Neesham, Siddharth Kaul, Wayne Parnell, Rahul Shukla, HS Sharath, Milind Kumar, Imran Tahir
Kings XI Punjab (Rs 12 crore): Cheteshwar Pujara, L Balaji, Murali Kartik (Retd)
Kolkata Knight Riders (Total Purse: 13 crore): Jacques Kallis (Retd), R Vinay Kumar, Manvinder Bisla, Debabrata Das, Sayan Sekhar Mondal
Rajasthan Royals: (Total Purse: Rs 13 crore): Brad Hodge, Unmukt Chand, Iqbal Abdulla, Kevon Cooper, Ankit Sharma, Amit sharma, Ankush Bains
Royal Challengers Bangalore: (Total Purse: Rs 21.5 crore) Yuvraj Singh, Albie Morkel, Parthiv Patel, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravi Rampaul, Sachin Rana, Shadab Jakati, Tanmay Mishra.
(With inputs from PTI)