As It Happened - All the player movements ahead of IPL 2023 auction

While we await further action first from off the field and then on it, here comes some content for you to brush yourself up ahead of the upcoming season. Among video content, ESPNcricinfo's in-house expert Robin Uthappa, now free from the pressures of IPL, wonders if his former team Super Kings might buy Bravo back. In the below video, he also suggests that Ben Stokes could be a perfect player at Sunrisers, while Wasim Jaffer makes a left-field choice too when it comes to the team in orange.

They also break down the Kings, Titans and Super Giants.

And to summarise, here is the complete list of how the IPL teams stack up ahead of the 2023 player auction, with Pollard, Williamson, Bravo and Mayank all released. And for all stories and videos, you can always visit our IPL 2023 series page. Until then, it's goodbye from us!

Knight Riders released a bunch of Indian cricketers, and so might have to go for like-for-like replacements. But there are more gaps to fill with wicketkeeping, opening and spin-bowling options. Maybe Seifert returns "home", or Bharat flies to Kolkata? Moreover, albeit both Narine and Chakravarthy are great options, more orthodox spin always helps.

More than chasing those available, Royal Challengers might want more dependency from their top five, which should likely include all of du Plessis, Kohli and Maxwell. And with minimal changes to their squad, all they might want is a foreign pace bowler or an allrounder to support Hazlewood and Hasaranga.

Royals will want more overseas names, especially in the allrounders' department after letting Mitchell and Neesham go. Cameron Green... of course! Maybe even Odean Smith? Or Holder or Bravo? Suddenly, a lot of allrounders are roaming about freely in the market. This could be interesting.

Why change a winning combination? That's exactly what defending champions Titans must have wondered in the lead-up to the mini-auction for next year. Although they have pace-bowling options already from their core in the form of Shami, Joseph, Dayal and Pandya, they might seek foreign options in that department. Who knows if Holder or Bravo land there?

Another side with not much tweaks, Capitals have the same base and pretty much the same squad heading into 2023. There is variety in both batting and bowling present, with a nice blend of right- and left-handers across both departments. But with two overseas slots remaining, they wouldn't mind chasing an allrounder to replace Thakur, and a wicketkeeper-batter in place of Seifert.

Super Kings might not do a lot of business, and could rely on the usual suspects - including of course their talisman Dhoni - apart from a bunch of spinners, who could turn it around for them at home in Chepauk. There is Jadeja, Santner and Theekshana, and the part-timer Moeen. Maybe all their action is reserved for the field?

How do Mumbai make up for the absence of the big-hitter, the useful seam bowler, and the athletic fielder Pollard? You sense Green could be in high demand very soon. And Mumbai's pace-bowling department might need a push too, even if the exciting Bumrah and Archer lead the pack. Maybe Tye or Chameera find a home there?

Super Giants might go hunting for back-up allrounders. Talk of an allrounder, and you are reminded of the in-form Cameron Green. He had initially missed out on the T20 World Cup before being an injury replacement, and the IPL could just be the ideal platform for him to further march ahead in the format.

They need three overseas slots to be filled, but ask Kings' fans and they might still believe in the batting despite the departure of Agarwal. But will they go back to Adil Rashid, who played his only IPL game for them in 2021? You would bet on Rashid's T20 form for sure after his success with England.

Sunrisers by far have the biggest purse in store, and four overseas slots to fill. But most importantly, apart from finalising their captain, they need a big hitter in the middle order. Will they go for Odean Smith, who also provides a pace-bowling option?

So here is a summary of the purse left - in descending order - with all ten teams :

Sunrisers Hyderabad - INR 42.25 crore
Punjab Kings - INR 32.2 crore
Lucknow Super Giants - INR 23.35 crore
Mumbai Indians - INR 20.55 crore
Chennai Super Kings - INR 20.45 crore
Delhi Capitals - INR 19.45 crore
Gujarat Titans - INR 19.25 crore
Rajasthan Royals - INR 13.2 crore
Royal Challengers Bangalore - INR 8.75 crore
Kolkata Knight Riders - INR 7.05 crore

Capitals release two back-up keepers in Seifert and Bharat.

Players released: Shardul Thakur, Tim Seifert, Ashwin Hebbar, KS Bharat, Mandeep Singh
Players acquired via trades: Aman Khan
Purse remaining: INR 19.45 crore
Overseas slots remaining - 2
Current squad: Rishabh Pant (C), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal

Summary: Capitals will be dependent more on their batters, as a line-up of Pant, Warner, Shaw, Sarfaraz and Powell suggests, but their bowling demands similar attention. There is Nortje and Ngidi, who can bowl at high pace as well as useful slower deliveries at the death; there are the left-armers Mustafizur, Khaleel and Sakariya; and then the left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep leads the spin pack. They too have a big purse remaining, with INR 19 cr in the bank. This is a team that continues to invest long term.

Royals keep their core together. Parag continues as a Royal.

Players released: Anunay Singh, Corbin Bosch, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Shubham Garhwal, Tejas Baroka
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 13.2 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: Sanju Samson (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa

Summary: Five of the nine players released by Royals are foreigners. The existing crop is likely to bank on captain Samson and Buttler yet again with the bat. Padikkal, Jaiswal and Parag are there too, but Royals will hope they can be consistent come the IPL. We would guess Royals need allrounders to add to their roster - they can add four overseas players - as the bowling includes the experience of Boult, Ashwin and Chahal. A well-rounded bowling line up for big Jaipur.

Rutherford the only real big name that RCB let go of.

Players released: Jason Behrendorff, Aneeshwar Gautam, Chama Milind, Luvnith Sisodia, Sherfane Rutherford
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 8.75 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 2
Current squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep

Summary: Not a lot of activity for Royal Challengers today: no player was acquired in the trade-offs, with five names let go of. Theirs is another team full of experience, but how they would love more support from their top order to ensure not a lot of pressure falls on Karthik and Shahbaz, who man the lower middle order! But given Allen's success, does he enter the season as a certain starter?

Pandey, Holder, Chameera omissions stand out.

Players released: Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Dushmantha Chameera, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, Manish Pandey, Shahbaz Nadeem
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 23.35 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: KL Rahul (capt), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi

In brief, Super Giants retain their variety but they have let go of a lot of experience. Rahul and de Kock at the top; Badoni, Hooda in the middle; Stoinis and Krunal with all-round roles; and there is then the pace of Avesh, Wood and Mohsin. A usually-attacking de Kock makes up for Rahul playing anchor too. They will look to fill up back-up allrounder options for sure.

Players released: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson, Dominic Drakes, Gurkeerat Singh, Jason Roy, Varun Aaron
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 19.25
Overseas slots remaining - 3
Current squad: Hardik Pandya (capt), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad

Summary: Expectedly, the defending champions Titans have not tinkered much. And why would they, considering it was that very team that helped them to a title in their very first season. Six players have been released, but the core of Pandya, Miller, Rashid, Shami, Gill among others, remains. Betting on another successful season? Remember, they can still acquire three foreigners, with INR 19.25 in hand. Only one way up for this squad that on paper look like a misfit but on the field play dangerous cricket.

Hales opts out, Rahane among many domestic players to be released.

Players released: Pat Cummins, Sam Billings, Aman Khan, Shivam Mavi, Mohammad Nabi, Chamika Karunaratne, Aaron Finch, Alex Hales, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Sharma, Baba Indrajith, Pratham Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Sheldon Jackson
Players acquired via trades: Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson
Purse remaining: INR 7.05 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 3
Current squad: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh

In summary, Knight Riders have let go of an entire bunch of players but they still have a lot to show: mystery spinners Narine and Chakravarthy are always handy, and where newly-acquired Thakur's change of pace and cutters could play a role too. But most importantly, how long before Russell regains his touch for them? Plus, they will need some very good top-order options too with Hales, Finch, Rahane gone. Ferguson is a direct Cummins replacement you'd have to think.

Power-packed Punjab pack a punch despite big names released.

Players released: Mayank Agarwal, Odean Smith, Vaibhav Arora, Benny Howell, Ishan Porel, Ansh Patel, Prerak Mankad, Sandeep Sharma, Writtick Chatterjee
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 32.2 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 3
Current squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Shahrukh Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar

To summarise, Kings have stuck to a batting-heavy line-up: Bairstow, Rajapaksa and Livingstone still remain for them. Releasing Agarwal possibly means Bairstow opening with Dhawan - dynamic and one that complements each other. Talk of their bowling, and they boast of Arshdeep and Rabada, with the former coming off a very successful stint with India. A massive INR 32.2 cr remains in their purse, with three foreign players to add. Expect them to go shopping next month.

Releasing Bravo and England death-overs specialist Chris Jordan is a surprise. Especially for Chennai conditions. Robin Uthappa had retired after last season. Jadeja, despite what rumour mills suggest, stays. Of course he stays!

Players released: Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Adam Milne, Hari Nishaanth, Chris Jordan, Bhagath Varma, KM Asif, Narayan Jagadeesan
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 20.45
Overseas slots remaining: 2
Current squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Deepak Chahar, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana

In summary: Before we continue, we must ask - is this the last season for MS Dhoni? Remember, he wasn't captain when IPL 2022 started but took over after Jadeja's indifferent start with the captain's armband. It could be another season of surprise from them, and they have already thrown one in by releasing Bravo. The days of Raina are gone too, but take a look at the variety in this bunch of players: Dhoni, Conway, Moeen, Gaikwad, Jadeja, Theekshana, among others. Toss the ball to Super Kings, and expect something big already, especially with two overseas slots left. They've kept a whole bunch of spinners with IPL 2023 returning to home-and-away format and Chepauk being awesome for spinners.

Williamson and Pooran, as confirmed earlier, lead Sunrisers' 12-man exodus.

Players released: Kane Williamson, Nicholas Pooran, Jagadeesha Suchith, Priyam Garg, Ravikumar Samarth, Romario Shepherd, Saurabh Dubey, Sean Abbott, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Sushant Mishra, Vishnu Vinod
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 42.25 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik

In summary, they have more than a few headaches. Four overseas slots to fill in the XI and the headache of appointing a new leader. Right now, it looks like a typical Sunrisers squad: mostly of youngsters, and one which is pace heavy. Will they gamble with a young captain (say a Washington Sundar or Abhishek Sharma(!)) or is this the team for Mayank Agarwal? Speaking of Abhishek, who is a Ranji captain by the way, in this interview to ESPNcricinfo, he had recently said that the great Brian Lara influenced him a lot when they paired up at Sunrisers. "Lara sir and I had a very good tuning too. We always talk about cricket, and when there is a match going on, we text each other to discuss how someone is batting".

Mumbai drop 13 players, many of them fast-bowling options. And Pollard.

Players released: Kieron Pollard, Anmolpreet Singh, Aryan Juyal, Basil Thampi, Daniel Sams, Fabian Allen, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Rahul Buddhi, Riley Meredith, Sanjay Yadav, Tymal Mills
Players acquired via trades: Jason Behrendorff
Purse remaining: INR 20.55 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 3
Current squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal

In summary: Mumbai Indians, who had a poor season in 2022, will be entering the upcoming season with a blend of experience and fresh faces: in Rohit, Kishan and Suryakumar they have retained their core with the bat, while in releasing a bunch of players, they have signalled their intention to sign up new names as they try to rebuild.

The talismanic allrounder, the champion, the DJ - no longer with Chennai Super Kings after 11 long years.

Dwayne Bravo, the 39-year-old and long-time CSK player has been released.

He won the IPL purple cap in 2013 and 2015. His 32 wickets taken for CSK in the 2013 season remains a record for most scalps in one season.

Looks like Alex Hales joins Sam Billings and Pat Cummins in the list of those not playing IPL 2023 for KKR, the franchise has confirmed. At 1.5 crore, Hales would definitely have been a steal, but this new update means their opening issues remain.

He pulled out of his contract with the franchise citing "bubble fatigue" and is due to spend the next four months on the road. ESPNcricinfo understands he will spend tonight (Tuesday) at his home in the UK then will travel to South Africa to visit his girlfriend and then will fulfil his contracts in the Abu Dhabi T10, the Big Bash, the ILT20 and the PSL, which runs until mid-March. His contract with KKR - worth INR 1.5 crore across two months - is not lucrative compared to his deals in some other leagues and he has instead decided to take April and May off before playing for Notts in the T20 Blast and Trent Rockets in the Hundred next year.

It's over. Another IPL captain from 2022 has been released. Mayank Agarwal, over whom there was a big deliberation at Kings, has finally been let go. With Shikhar Dhawan named captain well before today's retention deadline, one could say this was expected. Jonny Bairstow has also been retained, expectedly. Shahrukh Khan, too, stays.

West Indies allrounder Odean Smith has been released. As have Prerak Mankad, Writtick Chatterjee and Ishan Porel. As reported earlier, few more released players are Vaibhav Arora,, Benny Howell and Sandeep Sharma.

Smith and Sandeep were the tricky calls, you'd have to think. Smith's potential of producing match-winning batting performances at the death and also bowling quick is undeniable, but he was expensive last season (11.86 per over). As for Sandeep, even though he was tidy with the new ball, he took only two wickets in five games last season, now getting overhauled at the new-ball spot by Arshdeep Singh. Remember, they have Kagiso Rabada too, and Liam Livingstone.

Smith and Agarwal gone means 18 crore more for their purse.

The men in orange have let go of two national team captains. One of them was the franchise captain Kane Williamson and the other is Nicholas Pooran.

Williamson was their most expensive player (INR 14 crore, USD 1.86million approx) and spent eight years with them. He scored 2101 runs at an average of 36.22 and a strike rate of 126.03. He played 76 matches for Sunrisers and captained them 46 times.

Williamson being Sunrisers' first-choice retention, at that price tag, was a contentious one from the start. Despite being a prized top-order batter and captain, it indirectly also saw Afghan legspinner Rashid Khan make a move to Gujarat Titans.

Letting go of Williamson will free up a significant chunk of Sunrisers' purse. Throw in Pooran's INR 10.75 crore and that adds up to INR 24.75 crore from just two players. Remember, though, that Sunrisers could perhaps buy both back for less money. We don't really know their strategy since they haven't announced a new captain just yet.

As for Pooran, his own poor form has gone hand in hand with West Indies'. They crashed out in the First Round of the T20 World Cup, after losing to Scotland and Ireland. Pooran himself managed only 25 runs in three innings in the tournament, and his strike rate also remained a lowly 86.

They have a plethora of allrounders to choose from. Maybe they end up keeping all, you never know, but the first one confirmed by Lucknow Super Giants, ESPNcricinfo has learned, is Australia allrounder Marcus Stoinis.

With a price tag of INR 9.20 crore (USD 1.25million approx.) Stoinis has always been one Australia player with many teams looking to grab him. That is one of the reasons why he was one of their three pre-auction selections before last season for the new team.

Super Giants, who finished fourth, have quite a few allrounders. Now that they have Stoinis, will they retain the other three too? Jason Holder, Krunal Pandya and K Gowtham in contention.

Having earlier learned that Devdutt Padikkal was retained by Royals, news now in that South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen and New Zealand batting allrounder Daryl Mitchell have been released by the team from the pink city.

van der Dussen (two games) and Mitchell (three)had very little impact in their limited chances last season, both having strike-rates of under 100 and averages of under 17. They were both very late picks for Royals in the auction last time around, near the last round while looking to add overseas players to their roster.

Royal Challengers Bangalore, who reached the play-offs for the third successive year in 2022, are expected to retain the majority of their squad. . ESPNcricinfo understands they will release Sherfane Rutherford and Jason Behrendorff (who has been traded to Mumbai Indians) but are expected to retain their other six overseas players (Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Finn Allen and David Willey) and will also keep hold of most of their domestic players.

Why change a winning combination? That's what Hardik Pandya and Ashish Nehra are thinking. We're hearing that their first XI is basically retained, barring the transferred Ferguson and Gurbaz.

The only major player released by them, ESPNcricinfo has learned, is England opener Jason Roy. Roy has suffered a season-long slump at the Hundred and was then ignored for a T20 World Cup spot with England, where the likes of Phil Salt and Hales were picked, the latter a late call up after Bairstow's injury. Last season Roy was picked up for INR 2 crore (his base price) but later opted out of the tournament.

While the franchises put their finishing touches, IPL teams are already working hard ahead of the December 23rd auction.

Daya Sagar tells me from Alur: "Here at the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches in the outskirts of Bengaluru. Spotted scouts of five IPL teams - Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Punjab. RP Singh representing Mumbai.

"Interestingly, KS Bharat, released by Capitals today, has hit a 84-ball century for Andhra.

"N Jagadeesan (CSK) and Sai Sudharsan (Gujarat Titans) also hit centuries representing Tamil Nadu. However, Shahrukh Khan - his fate at Kings still unknown - struggled in his 27 balls, finding just one four and one six.

"Sudharsan's mother and brother were watching his game today. She said she is nervous for his son and fingers crossed on IPL retention."

Our in-house experts, Robin Uthappa and Wasim Jaffer, will be dissecting all retentions and releases at 6.30PM IST. You can catch it on ESPNcricinfo's home page, this blog and on our YouTube. Set your alarm!

Rajasthan Royals are backing left-hand batter Devdutt Padikkal. He has been retained by the side that is led by head coach Kumar Sangakkara. He was bought for INR 7.75 crore (a shade over 1 million USD approx) before the last IPL.

Padikkal has been in impressive touch in domestic cricket recently. As Karnataka opener he smacked a 62-ball 124 (unbeaten) against Maharashtra last month in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He also finished the Maharaja T20 tournament with unbeaten scores of 96 and 56 in the qualifier and final.

Interestingly, we still don't have word on the rest of his Karnataka top-order team-mates from that Maharashtra match: Agarwal (Kings), Manish Pandey (Lucknow Super Giants) and Abhinav Manohar (Gujarat Titans).

In IPL 2022, both his strike rate (122.87) and average (22.11) were his lowest in the three seasons he's had at the IPL, however, he was shuffled around the batting order, opening sometimes and batting as low as No. 4 on a few occasions.

Padikkal had played two T20Is for India in 2021, and being only 22, one good season of IPL might help him claim a spot in the national side's top order, especially if India decide to move on from at least one of their top three.

You'd expect Royals to also retain Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson, so their top order seems fairly set in stone. No news yet on the other young left-hand Indian batter in their squad Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was one of their pre-auction retentions last season.

Is anyone cutting onions around here? :'(

Here's Pollard, in his own words, with some nostalgia-max clips:

Knight Riders had three special talents from the 2018 U-19 World Cup. Even though Shubman Gill and Kamlesh Nagarkoti left over the years, Shivam Mavi was kept by KKR despite his frequent struggles with injury. However, that is now over, ESPNcricinfo has learned.

The right-arm seamer - who could also bat a little - will join Aaron Finch, Pat Cummins, Sam Billings, Mohammad Nabi and allrounder Chamika Karunaratne on their way out.

Mavi took 30 wickets across 32 matches with an economy of 8.71. Even though IPL 2021 was his best year, picking up 11 wickets in nine games at 7.24 economy, the last season was his worst, with an economy of 10.32 in six matches played.

As it stands, the six released players will add INR 19.5 crore to KKR's purse. Both Mavi and Cummins were bought for INR 7.25 crore each (USD 0.97 million approx), while Billings was bought for INR 2 crore. Nabi was purchased for INR 1 crore while Karunaratne had been bought for INR 50 lac. Finch was Hales' replacement at INR 1.5 crore. Don't forget that Knight Riders also gave up Aman Khan and added Shardul, Gurbaz and Ferguson, so that effective purse size is much lesser than the INR 19.5 crore mentioned above when viewed as a whole.

With the class of 2022 set to be disbanded, a few IPL franchises have put out parting notes before their official retention list is out. Check 'em out:

Are Punjab Kings releasing the trio of Mayank Agarwal, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith?

The clear motive is to go into the auction with a bulky purse. If all three are released, then they add a further 27 crore to their purse. Agarwal was the first player Punjab retained ahead of the mega auction last year at INR 12 crore (USD 1.6m approx.). Shahrukh was bought for INR 9 crore ($1.2 m approx.) and West Indies bowling allrounder Smith for INR 6 crore ($800,000).

In terms of form, all three players underperformed. Agarwal, who joined the franchise in 2018, was Punjab’s mainstay in the top order between 2019-21. The franchise appointed him as the captain for 2022, but leadership affected Agarwal’s batting as he finished with just 196 runs in 12 innings at an average of 16.33 and a strike rate of 122.50.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that the only question stopping Punjab from pressing the release button on Agarwal is the connect they have with the player. But Agarwal’s weak form which has continued in the domestic arena recently – Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (domestic T20) and the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (domestic 50-overs) – might force the franchise to release him and then keep the option of buying him back.

Punjab could do the same with Shahrukh, who made headlines in 2021 with his power-hitting in domestic cricket where he plays for Tamil Nadu. Two years ago, Punjab picked Shahrukh at the auction for INR 5.25 core. In 10 innings in the 2021 IPL, which was played in India and then in the UAE, Shahrukh scored 153 runs at an average of 21.85 along with a strike rate of 134.21. Next season he wanted a higher price from Punjab who wanted to retain him as an uncapped player, but eventually bought him back at the 2022 auction.

Shahrukh, though, was benched for half the season, and featured in just eight matches where he scored 117 runs at 16.71 and a strike rate of 108. Recently, playing an invitational 50-overs match for Tamil Nadu against Bangladesh, Shahrukh blasted a 69-ball hundred, sending a reminder of his potential to the IPL franchises. It is learned that Punjab are keen to retain Shahrukh but at a much cheaper price tag and believe they could do buy him at the auction.

As for Smith, the franchise is leaning towards releasing him. On his IPL debut last season, Smith scored 25* off 8 balls (against Royal Challengers Bangalore) with three sixes to finish off the chase and was named Player-of-the-Match. But in next five innings, he scored only 26 runs off 36 balls with two sixes. A skiddy medium fast bowler, Smith struggled to impose himself. Remember the consecutive sixes he conceded against Gujarat Titans off the last two deliveries of the match which Rahul Tewatia blasted over the ropes to secure the win for Gujarat Titans? Overall, Smith took six wickets in six matches but had an expensive economy of 11.86.

Other players likely to be released: Benny Howell, Sandeep Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Ansh Patel and Baltej Singh.

Pollard has hung his boots. But what about Ambati Rayudu, the 37 year old, with Chennai Super Kings?

During IPL 2022, mid season, he tweeted that he was retiring from the IPL. Apparently that got some senior CSK personnel scrambling to talk to him, and soon after that tweet was deleted. Even though he has been a rock in CSK's middle order with his consistency, he is getting older and with a price tag of 6.75 crore (USD 900,000 approx), some may consider him to be too expensive. However, CSK and Dhoni like experience and know what Rayudu can bring to their batting when the pressure is high. He is also very adaptable, fitting in anywhere between batting positions 1 to 5.

The Rayudu decision will probably also go hand in hand with what CSK are thinking their best XI could be for IPL 2023. He has generally struggled with the bat recently after making a move to Baroda in domestic cricket, scoring fifties only against J&K and Bihar.

If he does get released, it will bring an end to one of IPL's greatest bromances - between him and DJ Bravo. Bravo himself is 39 but his all-round abilities probably give him an edge in terms of being retained. Now we wait and see whether CSK (and Dhoni) opt for experience [again] or finally look to build towards the future. This team loves a good suspense though, so the wait continues for any CSK-related updates. Like it is with other player, though, he could also be re-purchased from the auction at a lower price.

"Once an MI, always an MI,
Sincerely, The Mumbai West Indian"

That's what Kieron Pollard, aged 35, has written in his statement, announcing that he is ending a 13-year association with Mumbai Indians as player. He said that he understands Mumbai Indians need to transition, and if he can't play for them, he doesn't want to play against them. In another update, he will now be Mumbai's batting coach.

Pollard is part of a small set of players who have played for only one franchise over their entire IPL careers. Among players to have played at least 100 matches, the others in this group are Virat Kohli, Sunil Narine, Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga.

Pollard joined the IPL in 2010 after a remarkable Champions League T20 event in 2009 that caught the world's attention. Such was his demand that season that it needed a "tie-breaker" at the auction to decide where Pollard would go after four teams bid the maximum price of USD 750,000 for him. Mumbai earned the right to have him after they won the tie-breaker after putting in the highest bid (still undisclosed).

Pollard ends his playing career with Mumbai with five IPL titles, the most for any overseas player in the tournament, and two Champions League T20 crowns. In the last two years, he also captained Mumbai when Rohit Sharma was not in the XI.

Last season, Pollard struggled with the bat, scoring 144 runs in 134 deliveries across 11 innings with a high score of 25 in a forgettable season for Mumbai. His legacy with Mumbai also includes mentoring the Pandya brothers in their initial days, with both allrounders regularly crediting the Trinidadian on their development.

News finally trickling in. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Delhi Capitals have released Mandeep Singh, KS Bharat, New Zealand's Tim Seifert and Andhra batter Ashwin Hebbar. This is in addition to them losing the services of Shardul Thakur to KKR and gaining Aman Khan in return.

Capitals had finished fifth last season. They had played Bharat, a wicketkeeper-batter, only twice with Rishabh Pant the No. 1 wicketkeeeping choice. Seifert, too, played only two games while Mandeep played three. None of them made significant impact in their outings, while Hebbar never got a game. Hebbar, though, was the second-highest run-scorer in the Andhra Premier League recently.

The release of these four players frees up 3.70 crore for the Capitals.

Will Alex Hales return to Knight Riders? His story of redemption was one of the standout tales of the 2022 T20 World Cup which England won. Hales showed resilience, verve, belligerence in his strokeplay, all on display especially against India in the semi-finals. He might have sat out for a few years to amend for his own mistakes, but Hales is now a World Cup winner. And the timing of the events, just over a month before the IPL auction will not be lost on Hales: he would be confident that if he is part of the auction, he will attract a high price. But can he actually participate in the auction?

In the 2022 auction, Kolkata Knight Riders picked Hales at his base price of INR 1.5 crore ($200,000 approx.). But Hales skipped going to IPL 2022 citing bubble fatigue and his mental well-being as the reason. Knight Riders brought in Australian opener Aaron Finch as a replacement.

As per IPL rules, the franchise has the right to release or retain both players. But what if Hales wants to head to the auction? Ideally Knight Riders would release Finch and retain Hales and make him their first-choice opener. The Knight Riders had last season, in the words of their CEO Venky Mysore, “respected” Hales’ decision to stay away from IPL in order to recharge. And now they would want Hales to respect their word. A tricky situation, this. He is a great overseas opener pick for the price tag of INR 1.5 crore.
With inputs from Nagraj Gollapudi

Teams are keeping their cards close to their chest this morning. It is quite likely that many players have already been told their fate, but they aren't revealing it just yet. This morning, Kane Williamson, Sunrisers captain last season who has been struggling with his T20 form recently, was asked about his IPL future. Predictably, he left it well alone, saying “you’ll hear from the team soon”.

Elsewhere, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals are having a fun time this morning with memes surrounding Jonny Bairstow, Devdutt Padikkal and Shimron Hetmyer. Does that mean they've been retained? If Bairstow is retained (along with Dhawan, the new captain) at Punjab, then we wonder what the Agarwal decision is.

Meanwhile, Shardul, the new Knight Riders allrounder, has also addressed his new home fans. He looks excited!

There are many reasons - some simple, some complex - on why franchises and players part ways.

Firstly, it is a cut-throat league. There is very little space for emotion. If a player did not succeed in their given role in the XI, then teams usually let them go. Take Punjab Kings, for example. They have named Shikhar Dhawan as captain for IPL 2023, which begs the question: what of Mayank Agarwal, their former captain purchased at INR 12 crore (USD 1.6million approx)? It is not preposterous to think that Agarwal may be released. It also frees up a massive chunk of money that can be used at the auction table.

Secondly, money matters are important. Take someone like Nicholas Pooran at Sunrisers Hyderabad. Given his high ceiling of potential, he has always been in demand but his form fluctuates. Since he was bought for INR 10.75 crore last year, a team like Sunrisers may be tempted to release him, add that money to the auction purse, and then buy him back for a cheaper price. This is a risky strategy, but one that teams don't mind doing if they are not too attached to a player. We've seen it previously with Jaydev Unadkat and Rajasthan Royals. It is a chance for teams who overpaid (due to aggressive bidding from other teams) last season to recalibrate their purses.

Thirdly, there may be a totally different thought process to teams. How Kolkata Knight Riders operated under Brendon McCullum will not be the same under their newly appointed coach Chandrakant Pandit. That can already be spotted with KKR being busy during the trading window. They have acquired two former Gujarat Titans players (Ferguson and Gurbaz) and have also bagged Shardul Thakur. A team like that could have a massive revamp, and we know from the past that KKR do not shy away from changing their squads around altogether.

Lastly, new T20 players have emerged in the last six months. Every team can keep a maximum of 25 players and a few teams are on the edge. Mumbai Indians, for example, have 25 squad members. Delhi Capitals, Royals and Sunrisers have 24 apiece. They cannot be active at the auction without releasing some players who, perhaps for them, did not stand out the way they desired. Those players need to be let go before these teams can think of buying some in-form players from, say, the latest iteration of India's domestic white-ball competitions.

It is November 15. Thirty-three years ago today, a new era of cricket began with a baby-faced Sachin Tendulkar playing his first game for India. The fever of Indian cricket has only grown since, but the landscape has changed dramatically. Just a week since India's semi-final exit from the T20 World Cup, the focus shifts to the sport's biggest league. IPL 2023 is roughly six months away, but it is never too early to restart the IPL buzz.

Over the last few days, teams have traded players, some high-profile cricketers have opted out too, but today the focus shifts on the franchises. Over the course of the day, we will know who has been released and who has made the cut to remain with their teams come spring 2023. It's a big day, because those who are released, have the opportunity to find new homes during the mini auction happening on Dec 23. Sit back and enjoy ESPNcricinfo's coverage. The clock has already begun ticking....

Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Pat Cummins has opted out of IPL 2023 in order to "take some rest" ahead of the Ashes and the 50-over World Cup scheduled next year.

Cummins was bought at the 2022 auction by Knight Riders for INR 7.25 crore. His stint at the IPL 2022 was cut short by a hip injury. He played five games last season, picking up seven wickets including 3 for 22 in his last game against Mumbai Indians. He also hit the joint-fastest fifty in the tournament's history.

One day after lifting the T20 World Cup for England, legspinner Adil Rashid says he will be putting his name forward for the IPL mini-auction for next year's edition. "Yes, I will be putting up my name in IPL auctions this time," Rashid told PTI. Despite being a regular in England's white-ball set-up since 2015, Rashid has played just one IPL match in his career - for Punjab Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2021. That came after he was onboarded by Kings as a replacement for Jhye Richardson.

In a significant trade, Kolkata Knight Riders have acquired the services of Indian allrounder Shardul Thakur, from Delhi Capitals. The trade, which ESPNcricinfo has learned was finalised on Monday, is an all-cash deal, but also involves Capitals getting uncapped Mumbai allrounder Aman Khan, who Knight Riders had bought at last year’s auction for INR 20 lakh (US $26,000 approx).

Sam Billings has pulled out of IPL 2023, where he was expected to be a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad, saying that his focus is on the longer format with Kent, his county.