File image of Kane Williamson© BCCI/IPL
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad released star batter and their captain Kane Williamson on Tuesday ahead of the cash-rich league’s mini auction. November 15 was the last date to announce the full list of players retained and released by the teams ahead of the mini auction, scheduled to be held on December 23 in Kochi. The Sunrisers had named Williamson as their skipper ahead of the IPL 2022, and retained him for INR 14 crore, making him their most expensive player. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad finished eighth in the 10-team league with only six wins out of 14 games.
On Wednesday, when asked by ESPNCricinfo if he was reconsidering his T20 future after being released by SRH, a side that he led last season, Williamson said: “No, not really. There are a lot of competitions around the world, and the IPL is certainly an amazing completion to be a part of. You see players play for different teams all the time. There are a lot of options, lot of cricket, so for me, I love playing all formats.”
Williamson said the Sunrisers management informed him “a few days ago” about its decision to let him go. “That’s the way it goes, I had a really enjoyable time at SRH, I have a lot of fond memories,” he said. “It wasn’t a surprise when it [retention list] was officially released,” he said.
IPL giants Chennai Super Kings also ended their hugely successful 11-year association with legendary all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition’s captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Besides Bravo, CSK have also decided to let go of England’s death-overs specialist Chris Jordan, a move that might surprise some.
With PTI inputs
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