Yuvraj Singh Released by Royal Challengers Bangalore for IPL 2015
Yuvraj Singh, who was bought for Rs. 14 crore in in the IPL 2014 player auction, was the second-highest run-getter for the team in the season with 376 runs.
Yuvraj Singh, the costliest buy (Rs. 14 crore) in the history of the Indian Premer League in 2014, has been released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the 2015 season. (Also read: Kevin Pietersen deemed surplus by Delhi Daredevils)
Yuvraj had finished as the second highest run-getter for the Bangalore franchise, with 376 runs including three fifties. Earlier, Yuvraj had missed out on a chance to play in the 2015 World Cup after being ignored in the 30-man probables list.
Yuvraj's addition to a star-studded line-up including Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli was one of the most highly-anticipated features of the 2014 season. However, Bangalore won just five out of their 14 matches and finished second-last in the tournament. The Royal Challengers Bangalore also released Albie Morkel, Parthiv Patel, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravi Rampaul, Sachin Rana, Shadab Jakati and Tanmay Mishra.
This move gives Bangalore an additional Rs. 21.5 crore for the IPL player auction in 2015. It remains unclear whether the team management deems Yuvraj surplus to their requirements or they plan to buy him back at a cheaper price in the auctions.
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)