IPL4 news - players retained by franchises announced

IPL4

Wednesday was the deadline for the IPL teams to announce the players they were planning to retain. All of them (including the ones who are doubtful of competing in the next version) have announced the names.

I had done my bit of crystal-gazing earlier on the probable retentions. While I had suggested correctly that most of the seniors like Rahul, Kumble and Ganguly will not be retained, there were few surprises otherwise.

• Chennai SuperKings has decided to part ways with Murali the spinner while retaining Murali, the opening batsman.
• I had expected RCB to retain Uthappa (local player), Kallis and Taylor. But, I guess, the team must have looked at the price quoted for these players earlier and decided to let them go (this must be true for all other teams as well)
• Mumbai opted to retain four players - the only surprise to me was retaining Malinga for Zaheer Khan. Zak would have provided a bit more local support but there is no doubt on the effectiveness of Slinger Malinga.
• It was surprising to see Delhi Daredevils leave out Gambhir, David Warner (who is definitely a future superstar in this format) and Dilshan. Again, their costs must be weighing on the mind of the franchises.
• KKR let go of McCullum - a real loss to the team that is anyway not making a difference in any of the IPL so far. They expect Gayle to lead the team in the next season, looks like.
• Deccan Chargers could have retained Andrew Symonds but again his high price paid earlier will prey on the Management. I am sure, given an opportunity, DC will take him again on a lower price. It will be interesting to see how many players will be taken back by their previous teams for a lower price.
• At 41, Shane Warne still commands respect in Australia - reporters asking him to make a comeback to test cricket which needs much more stamina than a T20 match. No wonder, Rajasthan Royals have retained him. Another surprising omission from them is that of the latest hero, Yusuf Pathan.

Many questions arise after these announcements. What happens to the retained players if Rajasthan is shown the door? Will Kochi and Pune teams be given the first option to grab some marquee players? Time, as usual, will reveal more answers.

Related articles

• IPL 4: Dravid, Ganguly, Gambhir up for grabs (cricketnext.in.com)
• MI retains key players (thehindu.com)
• Rajasthan retain Warne and Watson (espncricinfo.com)