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IPL 2024 – Wanidu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa released, Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana retained by CSK
With the retention dealine for IPL 2024 ending today (26), it has been reported that , Wanidu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa have been released by Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings respectively while Chennai Super Kings have retained Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana.
The full list of retentions and releases follows,
Gujarat Titans: Hardik retained for now
In the lead-up to the player retention deadline, it was reported that Hardik Pandya would be leaving Gujarat Titans and returning to Mumbai Indians. But on the day of the deadline, Titans retained Hardik and listed him as their captain for now. Hardik could yet move back to Mumbai, with the trading window active until December 12, a week before the player auction on December 19.
Titans have retained the core of the squad that won them the IPL title in 2022 and took them to the finals in 2023.
Players released: Alzarri Joseph, Odean Smith, Dasun Shanaka, Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan
Players retained: David Miller, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya, Abhinav Manohar, B Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Josh Little, Mohit Sharma
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Hazlewood, Hasaranga, Harshal out
RCB are set to overhaul their bowling attack, having released Wanindu Hasaranga, recent ODI World-Cup winner Josh Hazlewood, David Willey and Wayne Parnell. They have retained England left-arm quick Reece Topley, but he is prone to injuries. Mohammed Siraj is the only certain starter among bowlers in their list of retained players.
Players released: Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, Sonu Yadav, Avinash Singh, Siddharth Kaul, Kedar Jadhav
Players traded out: Shahbaz Ahmed
Players traded in: Mayank Dagar
Players retained: Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Vyshak Vijaykumar
Purse for the auction: 40.75 CR
Mumbai Indians: Archer headlines 11 player exodus
Mumbai don’t have the services of their old boy Hardik just yet. They released as many as 11 players – including Jofra Archer, who was bought for INR 8 crore at the 2022 auction – to free up their purse in case the trade for Hardik goes ahead before the auction.
Players released: Arshad Khan, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Tristan Stubbs, Duan Jansen, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Chris Jordan, Sandeep Warrier
Players traded in: Romario Shepherd
Players retained: Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Cameron Green, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorf
Chennai Super Kings: Stokes released
As expected CSK released Stokes, who had opted out of IPL 2024 to manage his workload. The departure of both Stokes (INR 16.25 crore) and Rayudu (INR 6.75 crore), who has retired from the IPL, will allow CSK to bid aggressively for overseas allrounders and quicks at the auction.
Players released: Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Dwaine Pretorious, Bhagath Varma, Subhranshu Senapati, Akash Singh, Kyle Jamieson, Sisanda Magala
Players retained: MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Chowdhary, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw stays
Capitals have placed faith in Shaw once again despite his poor season in 2023, but they lack power in the middle order following the release of Rovman Powell. They will be on the lookout for a finisher and a fast bowler.
Players released: Rilee Rossouw, Chetan Sakariya, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Phil Salt, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Priyam Garg
Players retained: Rishabh Pant, David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar
Rajasthan Royals: Holder, Root released
Royals had hoped Jason Holder would lend balance and depth to their side last season, but they barely used him with the bat and failed to get the best out of him with the ball. A gun overseas allrounder will be top priority on their shopping list at the auction.
Players released: Joe Root, Abdul Basith, Jason Holder, Akash Vashisht, Kuldip Yadav, Obed McCoy, M Ashwin, KC Cariappa, KM Asif
Players traded out : Devdutt Padikkal
Players traded in : Avesh Khan
Players retained: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Prasidh Krishna\
Punjab Kings: Shahrukh, a surprise release
Releasing Shahrukh Khan (INR 9 crore) into the auction pool has allowed Kings to retain allrounder Sam Curran, who had become the most expensive player in the IPL (INR 18.5 crore) at the previous auction. If Kings can’t buy Shahrukh back at a lower price, they need a new domestic finisher.
Players released: Shahrukh Khan, Raj Bawa, Baltej Dhanda, Mohit Rathee, Bhanuka Rajapaksa
Players retained: Shikhar Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Bhatia
Kolkata Knight Riders: Several quicks among 12 players let go
KKR, like RCB, have overhauled their pace department, letting Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur and Tim Southee go among others. They also need a back-up wicketkeeper batter for Rahmanullah Gurbaz, having released both Litton Das and N Jagadeesan.
Players released: Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur, Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, N Jagadeesan, David Wiese, Aarya Desai, Litton Das, Johnson Charles, Shakib Al Hasan
Players retained: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, , Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, Andre Russel, Venkatesh Iyer, Suyash Sharma, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Brook cut loose
Harry Brook headlines Sunrisers’ list of released players, but they already have a ready middle-order replacement for him in Glenn Phillips. Their spin attack, though, appears thin following the releases of Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein and Mayank Dagar, who was traded for Shahbaz Ahmed.
Players released: Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein, Karthik Tyagi, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas
Players traded out: Mayank Dagar
Players traded in: Shahbaz Ahmed
Players retained: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande
Lucknow Super Giants: Unadkat, Sams let go
LSG released eight players – none of whom can lay claim to being first-XI players, though new coach Justin Langer said it was hard for the franchise to let Daniel Sams go. Having also traded Romario Shepherd to Mumbai, LSG will eye overseas allrounders at the auction.
Players released: Daniel Sams, Karun Nair, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra, Karan Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Swapnil Singh, Arpit Guleria
Players traded out : Romario Shepherd, Avesh Khan
Players traded in : Devdutt Padikkal
Players retained: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Prerak Mankad, Yudhvir Singh, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Naveen-ul-Haq
(Cricinfo)
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl first in the first semi-final at Eden Gardens
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (capt), James Neesham, Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, 11 Lockie Ferguson
South Africa: Aiden Markram (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
Around 140 people are missing after an Iranian navy ship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan navy says around 180 people were on board, with 32 rescued. A spokesman tells the BBC the cause of the sinking is not known
Sri Lanka’s navy has confirmed that it’s rescued 32 people after it received a distress call from Iranian navy ship ‘IRIS Dena’ early this morning.
Budhika Sampath, the spokesman of Sri Lanka’s navy says: “Though it was beyond our waters, it was within our search and rescue region. So we were obliged to respond as per international obligations.”
He adds: “We found people floating on the water, rescued them, and later when we inquired we found that those people are from an Iranian ship.”
He also says that according to the documentation of the ship 180 people are believed to have been on board, although the exact number of missing is unknown.
The spokesman says at the time of launching the rescue operations they did not see the vessel but saw oil patches on the water and floating life rafts.
He also tells the BBC that he rejects the reports of a submarine attack causing the sinking, and that the cause is unknown.
Earlier the secretary of the country’s defence ministry Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuiyakontha told BBC Sinhala that around 140 people are thought to be missing.
So far, Sri Lanka’s military has not been able to confirm what might have caused the ship to sink.
[BBC]
The good thing about South Africa – New Zealand semi-finals is it gives neutrals at least one team to cheer for in the final. Two generally likeable sides who have – somehow – yet to lift an ICC white-ball trophy between them since 2000 vie for yet one more crack at it, as they look to edge each other out. South Afria’s heartache c in these tournaments is well-documented, but New Zealand make semi finals more consistently than any other side over the past two decades, and are yet to string the two matches together from this stage onwards that would propel them to glory.
There is, often, little to choose between these two but, this time around, a clear favourite has emerged. South Africa are unbeaten this tournament, and that includes a trouncing, of New Zealand in the group stages. They have played all their games in India, which has allowed them to make full use of their fast bowlers without needing to turn to spin in any extensive way, which plays into their strengths.
With 268 runs at a strike rate of 175, captain Aiden Markram has been arguably the best opener in the tournament, while a middle- and lower-order comprising Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen is the envy of any side in the competition. In Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi – the highest wicket-taker remaining in the tournament – they have high pace as well as great variety, with Keshav Maharaj getting through the spin overs. It is hard to imagine how South Africa could have covered all bases more comprehensively.
New Zealand’s campaign has proved much less straightforward, and it is harder to gauge the true nature of their quality and their ability to contend for this title. They beat Afghanistan, Canada and the UAE through the group stages, before a washout against Pakistan and defeat to England left them relying on an external result to qualify. They owe their place in the last four to a commanding win over Sri Lanka, one which had its own hiccups along the way.
They have had to adjust, though, playing their group matches in India before going off to Sri Lanka for the Super Eight. They are back in India again, with Kolkata the venue for the semi-final, which will likely see them pull back their use of spin and turn to the quicker bowlers again. Their strength is a gun top-order, with Finn Allen and Tim Seifert in consistently explosive form, and great flexibility with the ball thanks to a surfeit of allrounders, a deep batting order, and fast bowlers than can neatly blend back into the side for spinners without disrupting the balance of the line-up.
Both sides have been knocking on the door for silverware for long enough. Once more, they chip away at it in the hope that this time, their efforts will be enough to blow the house down.
Rachin Ravindra was the stand out player in Lahore last year, the last time these two sides met in an ICC semi-final at the 2025 Champions Trophy. He scored a century that set New Zealand on its way before keeping things tight with the ball. At this tournament, he played a central two-in-one role for New Zealand in the Super Eight in Colombo where the ball gripped and stopped, but on the flatter strips of Eden Gardens it is with the bat that he will be more important to New Zealand. Ravindra has a phenomenally good ICC record, but at this tournament, his batting hasn’t quite clicked in the same way. All that can be put to rest facing a team against whom he has enjoyed big-match success.
Aiden Markram has towered over almost any other batter at this tournament, and is the highest run-scorer among sides still alive. He saved his best innings for the game against New Zealand in the groups, pulverising an unbeaten 86 off 44 to seal a comfortable win. It is one of three destructive half-centuries he has scored at this World Cup. His clean aerial hitting through the powerplay has proven almost impossible to counter for bowlers when in this kind of form, especially if he cannot be snared early, as India and Zimbabwe recently managed. Markram has also demonstrated his ability to rise to the biggest of occasions, as evidenced by his fourth innings hundred in the World Test Championship final against Australia last year. A semi-final here is unlikely to overawe him.
Matt Henry arrives in Kolkata tonight after returning home for the birth of his second child. He will not train, but is likely to line up in the XI on Wednesday. With New Zealand returning to the less spin-friendly India, Ish Sodhi might make way for Jimmy Neesham.
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (capt), Cole McConchie/Jacob Duffy, Jimmy Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson
South Africa’s top seven is set in stone. On a pitch as flat as Kolkata’s, they are unlikely to go with any more than one spinner.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
[Cricinfo]
Cabinet nod to accept Japanese government grant of 08 used low floorboard buses
Payment of the financial subsidy for fertilizer to farmers cultivating paddy lands for the Yala season 2026.
Ministerial Committee appointed to submit recommendations on proposed program to mitigate loss of crops to wild animals
New Zealand elect to bowl first at Eden Gardens
Cabinet approves import of Maize to meet shortfall
Cabinet nod for the removal of Cess tax imposed on imported good
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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