Star India batter Rinku Singh was recently retained by Kolkata Knight Riders for 13 crore. The power-hitter, whose five sixes against Yash Dayal in IPL 2023 lofted him to international fame, was the top retainee of the side. After the IPL retentions were announced, several reports and social media users have claimed that Rinku has bought luxurious bungalow in The Golden Estate located in Ozone City, Aligarh. According to some, it’s a 500 square yard house and costs Rs 3.5 crore.
13 #rinkusingh #KKR pic.twitter.com/gp0JswToV2
— (@MeRanaParvesh) November 3, 2024
— Sanjay Kishore (@saintkishore) November 2, 2024
The IPL winning captain Shreyas Iyer has been let go after winning the title for his franchise KKR this year, their first in a decade and overall third. While many argue his batting stats of 351 runs in 14 innings with two fifties at a strike rate of 146.86 could be a reason behind his release, the other half of the story is that the in-form KKR top-order did not leave the middle-order with much to do. His recurring fitness issues, which caused him to miss 2023 season, also could be a reason.
Irrespective of what the reason could be, one thing is for sure, Iyer is up there with likes of Adam Gilchrist (released by Deccan Chargers in 2011 after title win in 2009, semifinal finish in 2010), David Warner (released by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of 2022 season despite 2016 title win and multiple playoff finishes) as one of the most unluckiest captains in IPL.
The franchises have been extremely bold this time around, opting to release experienced, household Indian/overseas names and placing their trust in several Indian uncapped/inexperienced players.
Out of a total of 46 players retained across all franchises, 36 players are Indian. Out of these, 10 players are uncapped Indians stars. These players are Abhishek Porel, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Yash Dayal.
Also, out of other 24 capped Indians, 13 players have played less than 30 international matches and eight have played 10 or less international games for India. Of these 24 uncapped players, no one has all format experience for India and only two have Test cricket experience, Dhruv Jurel and Rajat Patidar.
Notably, it is Jurel, who has just played international matches for India, who has received the biggest pay hike, going from Rs 20 lakh this season to Rs 14 crores next season.
With ANI inputs
