Why Was Rashid Khan Not Retained? SunRisers Hyderabad CEO Explains

Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and SunRisers Hyderabad's separation was one of the most discussed events in the IPL retention that took place on Tuesday. SRH CEO K Shammi revealed the reasons behind SRH not retaining their gun-player ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction. Shammi said it was Rashid's choice to go into the auction pool with the hope of getting a better price and the franchise respected the leg-spinner's decision. The SRH CEO, however, was quick to add that the Hyderabad-based franchise would try to pick Rashid up in the mega auction at the "right price."

"It's a difficult decision but if a player wants to be in the auction because of the price, we definitely respect his choice. We'll try and match it and see if we can pick him up with the right price at the auction," SRH CEO K Shammi said on Star Sports during the IPL retentions. 

Rashid was first picked up by SRH in IPL 2017 for 4 crore. After a pretty good debut season, Rashid's stocks rose and his price went up to 9 crore in the 2018 auctions where Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab then) gave the highest bid but SRH, quite expectedly, used their Right to Match (RTM) card to get him at the same price. 

In the 76 matches that Rashid has played for SRH so far in the IPL, he has picked up 93 wickets with an impressive economy rate of 6.33. 

The Afghanistan leggie took to Twitter to thank the franchise for their support in the last five seasons. 
"It has been a wonderful journey with the @sunrisershyd Thank you for your support, love and for believing in me. To the #OrangeArmy you've been my pillar of strength and I shall forever be grateful for such wonderful fans," Rashid tweeted on Wednesday. 

It has been a wonderful journey with the @sunrisershyd ????

Thank you for your support, love and for believing in me ????

To the #OrangeArmy you've been my pillar of strength and I shall forever be grateful for such wonderful fans ???????? pic.twitter.com/1yIx1oVKXO

— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) December 1, 2021

SRH decided to retain New Zealand's Kane Williamson for 14 crore and uncapped Indian cricketers Abdul Samad and Umran Mailk for 4 crore each. 

"We are delighted to inform that the following players have been retained ahead of next year's mega auction. Player No.1 Kane Williamson, our captain. Player No.2 uncapped Abdul Samad and player No.3 Umran Malik also uncapped. We believe these players will lay a strong foundation of success for the next season and beyond," said SRH's director of cricket Tom Moody.

SRH bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan explained why Williamson was the franchise's first choice. 
"Kane is one of the best captains and his performance in the IPL for us has been quite good. He has scored 700 runs for us in a season, he's that kind of a player. We wanted to secure the captain first and that's why we went for Kane Williamson. The other two players are the most talented young players," he added. 
 

Topics mentioned in this article

IPL 2022 Rashid Khan Kane Williamson Umran Malik Abdul Samad Sunrisers Hyderabad Cricket