The IPL 2021 player retention and release list saw few surprises as the majority of the sides retained their core players. There were some big names released in the form of Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Lasith Malinga from Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians respectively. With the IPL 2021 auction slated to be held around February, with various reports stating to be February 16, it will be interesting to see how the teams approach to buy some of the players who will now be in the auction pool. A total of 57 players were released and there is now a period of waiting as to how many players will be put up for the auction in February. The rules this time are interesting with the trading window for players to be open until February 20. This is the first time that players are being traded after the player retention and release list has been put up.
After the end of the player retention and release lit, this is how the current situation is. Kings XI Punjab has released nine players and their purse is a whopping Rs 53.2 crore. With five overseas slots remaining, they will be aiming to fill those up and they will be expected to go big in the IPL 2021 auction. Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore has released the most players with seven and they have the second-highest auction purse with Rs 35.7 crore. Rajasthan Royals have the third-highest purse with Rs 34.85 crore after releasing eight players, including their previous captain Steve Smith.
Lowest purse
When it comes to the lowest purse, Sunrisers Hyderabad has the least with Rs 10.75 crore having retained the core of their squad. Kolkata Knight Riders also have a low purse with Rs 10.85 crore, with both sides having left out some players while retaining the majority of the core. Delhi Capitals have a purse of Rs 12.8 crore with three overseas slots remaining with five-time champions Mumbai Indians have Rs 15.35 crore left in their kitty.
MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings have Rs 22.9 crore in their purse after heading into the player retention and release list with the least amount of Rs 15 lakh. With the release of Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Piyush Chawla, Monu Singh and Murali Vijay, they have sufficient money to bid for players. However, they have only one overseas slot while the remaining are domestic players which they might buy for a small amount.
