IPL retention day sprang a number of surprises with several high profile players let go ahead of the 2024 IPL auction.

The headline news was Hardik Pandya’s retention at Gujarat Titans despite speculation over a move back to Mumbai Indians, though it remains possible that Pandya returns to his former franchise ahead of December’s auction. Elsewhere, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma’s respective retentions at Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians ended speculation around their immediate futures in the IPL.

Generally speaking it was a bad day for England players as Jofra Archer, Harry Brook, Adil Rashid and Phil Salt were all released following the recent news that neither Ben Stokes nor Joe Root have made themselves available for next year’s tournament. Archer’s time at Mumbai has been dominated by his long running injury issues; the star England quick played just five matches in two seasons having been signed for INR 8 Crore (c. £760,000).

Brook, meanwhile, paid the price for an underwhelming debut season at Sunrisers Hyderabad. The England youngster was signed for IND 13.25 Crore (c. £1.25 million) but aside from a century against Kolkata Knight Riders, failed to pass fifty in any other innings – a run of form that eventually saw him lose his place in the Hyderabad XI. Rashid, having only made three appearances in 2023, was another let go by Hyderabad.

Salt’s release from Delhi was arguably less down to form. The English wicketkeeper-batter enjoyed a decent first IPL campaign, averaging just under 30 and striking at 163.91. His departure from Delhi has perhaps more to do with the likely return to fitness for Rishabh Pant and the desire to reintegrate Prithvi Shaw into the XI after the opener was dropped following a run of low scores in 2023. Salt wasn’t the only overseas Delhi player to be released after a productive campaign in 2023 with Rilee Rossouw also dropped by the franchise. Elsewhere, Chris Jordan and David Willey were released from Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively.

Away from England, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood and Wanindu Hasaranga were three high-profile releases from RCB. Hasaranga had a quiet campaign in 2023, battling the Chinnaswamy Stadium’s notoriously short boundaries while Hazlewood’s release is due to him and his partner expecting the birth of their child shortly before the start of next year’s tournament.

KKR look set to make wholesale changes at the 2024 auction having released 12 players today including internationals Shakib Al Hasan, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, David Wiese, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur. Mumbai are in a similar position having let go of Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith and Tristan Stubbs on top of Jordan and Archer.

Other prominent internationals let go by their franchises include Kyle Jamieson from CSK, Jason Holder from RR, Daniel Sams from LSG and Alzarri Joseph and Dasun Shanaka from LSG.