With just 24 hours left to submit IPL 2018 retained players list, the franchises might be going through some serious headaches. On one hand, they would want to keep their star players but also have to make sure that these players return value for money spent on them. For example, Harbhajan Singh has been a part of the Mumbai Indians side since the inception of IPL but he hasn’t been playing international cricket for some time now. So, it makes sense to retain someone a lot younger like Krunal Pandya. Another interesting aspect is that all these players will get a contract of three years. So, ideally, you would want to retain someone who is going to represent the side for the next three years which isn’t a certainty in case of Harbhajan who is already 37-year-old. So, we look at a unique IPL 2018 player list that includes names who may have to find new teams this year:
Sometimes being too talented is also a curse. When you see Maxwell bat, it seems that he has so many shots in his pocket that he himself gets confused which one to pull out. The Aussie has failed to score big in the last couple of IPL seasons. He scored 310 runs in 14 matches at an average of 31.00 last year for Kings XI Punjab but that performance may not be enough for the management to retain him.
2. Yuvraj Singh
Last year around the same time, Yuvraj Singh had made his dramatic comeback to the Indian team. This year though, he may have a tough time finding a suitable franchise. The southpaw had a mediocre season last year where he scored 252 runs from 12 matches and at 36, Yuvraj isn’t the fittest player anymore. Sunrisers Hyderabad in all likelihood will retain David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan. While some believe that Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be the third retention, an uncapped Deepak Hooda won’t be a bad choice either.
3. Chris Gayle
The 38-year-old big Jamaican has owned the IPL over the years and he might be doing the same in various other leagues this year. However, he had a tough time last year in India, eventually forcing RCB to drop him. Gayle scored just 200 runs from 9 matches at an average of 22.22. Moreover, at 38, there are serious doubts over his fitness and longevity. Bangalore will definitely retain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and given that it has many other lucrative options like KL Rahul, Kedar Jadhav, Shane Watson and Yuzvendra Chahal, Gayle might have to find a new team.
4. Kieron Pollard
Another player who was a result of T20-form of the game, Pollard has been out of the national side for a long time now. He is certainly a big match player but the Mumbai Indians have already confirmed that they will retain Rohit Sharma along with the Pandya brothers which means that Pollard will have to find a new side.
5. Ben Stokes
This is more of a case of poor luck than performance. Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for a whopping amount last year but since the franchise has been dissolved with the return of CSK and RR, Stokes will once again go back to the auction.