IPL 2023: 5 most surprising retentions from franchises ahead of auction

    These players didn't live up to the expectations for their respective franchises.

    Vijay Shankar
    Vijay Shankar. (Image Credits: Twitter)

    After the T20 World Cup 2022, cricketing fans are looking forward to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. As usual, before the battle on the field, the battle of brains began between the franchises as all ten teams recently released their list of their retained players and the players they have let go ahead of the mini auctions for IPL 2023.

    Most franchises have retained their core players and released the underperformers to clear the deadwood. Furthermore, all retentions have been done mindfully, keeping the value of these players in mind. While most retentions make a lot of sense, there have been some surprising retentions as well.

    In this post, we will talk about such retentions and take a look at the 5 most surprising retentions by franchises ahead of the auction.

    5. Mustafizur Rahman

    Mustafizur Rahman
    Mustafizur Rahman. (Image Credits: Twitter)

    Delhi Capitals signed the left-arm pacer from Bangladesh for INR 2 crore in the auction for IPL 2022. Mustafizur Rahman is an excellent death bowler with subtle pace variations to outfox the batters.

    He played 8 matches for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2022 in the absence of Anrich Nortje. Mustafizur bagged 8 wickets in 8 matches at a decent economy rate of 7.62. However, Delhi Capitals already have two quality foreign pace bowlers in Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi.

    Furthermore, they have two left-arm pacers in Khaleel Ahmed and Chetan Sakariya. In such a scenario, Mustafizur Rahman is likely to warm the bench for the entire season in 2023 and his retention made little sense.