IPL 2016: Costliest Player Yuvraj Singh Dumped by Delhi Daredevils; Sunrisers Hyderabad Say Goodbye to Kevin Pietersen, Dale Steyn
Delhi Daredevils had bought Yuvraj Singh for a record Rs 16 crore in the IPL auctions last year. Yuvraj failed to live up to Delhi's expectations. Kevin Pietersen and Dale Steyn have also been dumped by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Yuvraj Singh, who was the costliest player of the Indian Premier League Season 8, was released by Delhi Daredevils on Thursday. The Indian all-rounder, who has been picked for the upcoming Twenty20 international series in Australia, had failed to live up his reputation as a Twenty20 specialist. (IPL Auction: Yuvraj Singh Sold to Delhi Daredevils for Record Rs 16 Crore)
Kevin Pietersen, Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma were among the big names who have been released by their franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad. All released players will enter February's auction pool when all eight teams will be allowed to realign their rosters.
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Virender Sehwag has been released by Kings XI Punjab, who have also set free Australian George Bailey and Sri Lankan Thisara Perera. Mumbai Indians have released their marquee Australians like Aaron Finch and Josh Hazlewood. (Virender Sehwag best option to captain Kings XI Punjab)
Yuvraj, who was bought for a whopping Rs 16 crore by Delhi Daredevils, scored just 248 runs from 14 matches. He scored just two half-centuries. He picked up just one wicket. (Indian Premier League 2015)
Yuvraj will still be a hot property. He was in good form in the recent domestic season and a good show in Australia will improve his chances, especially with new teams Pune and Rajkot eager to strengthen their squads.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Retained
Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore have retained their skipper Virat Kohli. Mumbai Indian have retained Rohit Sharma while two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders Gautam Gambhir. All three are expected to lead their teams this year.
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David Warner (Sunrisers), Glenn Maxwell (Kings XI) and JP Duminy (Delhi) have been retained. The window for teams to retain players ended on Thursday.
Every team has Rs 66 crore to spend on players. After retaining the players they want, Delhi have the maximum purse (36.85 crore) to spend during the auctions. Mumbai have the least (14.4) while KKR have 17.95 crore. Pune and Rajkot, the newbies, have 27 crore each after the players draft held earlier this month.