One major mistake from each IPL team

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has established itself as the most prestigious T20 tournament in the World. With a mix of exciting young talents as well as some of the stalwarts of the game, the league has become famous among most cricket enthusiasts who watch the game closely. The tournament began with its inaugural edition played in the year 2008 with eight teams battling it out for the silverware. However, it was only in the year 2022 that the teams were increased from eight teams to ten teams permanently. 

Throughout the history of the tournament, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as well as Mumbai Indians (MI) have been among the most successful franchises in the history of the IPL and have won the title on five occasions. Whereas, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have won the title on two occasions. 



Also Read:  IPL 2024: Latest Points Table, Highest Run Scorers, and Wicket-Takers after DC vs CSK, Match 13

Here are some major mistakes made by IPL teams: 

1. Rajasthan Royals: Releasing Yusuf Pathan

The inaugural champions of the 2008 edition of the IPL, Rajasthan Royals have had a topsy-turvy history in the tournament but their team in the 2024 edition of the IPL looks pretty solid. The team has almost every base covered and under the leadership of Sanju Samson, the RR team is among the favourites to win the tournament this time around.

However, at the time when they won the title in the year 2008, the team was a complete mixture of some young talents like Ravindra Jadeja, and Yusuf Pathan along with some legendary players like Shane Watson and Shane Warne, who was also the captain of the team. With this sort of amalgamation, the franchise went on to win the tournament. However, post this title win the team has not been able to win any titles. One of the key contributors to their victory was Yusuf Pathan who was later on released by the franchise in the 2011 auction Yusuf then joined Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Surprisingly, after Pathan joined KKR, the Gautam Gambhir-led KKR side won two championships in the year 2012 and 2014.

2. Punjab Kings: Letting go David Miller

Punjab Kings is also one of the franchises that have never won any title until now however they have come close to doing it on multiple occasions. Despite having players like Yuvraj Singh, Shaun Marsh, and David Miller the franchise never quite got it going whenever it came to winning the title.

Irrespective of the 2014 season where the franchise finished in the top spot they have and later on finished as runners the team have only made it to the playoffs on one occasion. Currently, under the leadership of Shikhar Dhawan the Punjab Kings are losing one solid team. But retaining Miller in their squad would have given them an extra edge. 

3. Chennai Super Kings: Not buying any established Indian wicket-keeper to replace MS Dhoni

One of the most followed as well as arguably the most successful sides going around in the competition is Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The franchise is known for its best strategic planning however, they have left a huge void in answering the question as to who will fill in the shoes of MS Dhoni, behind the wicket once he leaves. No doubt that the franchise have tried answering it by roping in Aravelly Avanish, who represented India in the recently concluded U/19 World Cup 2024.

However, apart from Avanish, the CSK team does not have a go-to Indian wicketkeeper batter who can take up that role of batting lower down the order. CSK does have Devon Conway as a wicket-keeping option but if he returns from injury, he will slot in place of Rachin Ravindra. But with the kind of form Ravindra is in it will be hard to replace him.

4. Kolkata Knight Riders: Releasing Gautam Gambhir, Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav

One of the most successful sides, in terms of winning the tournament, is Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The KKR team have been successful in winning the prestigious IPL trophy on two occasions; in 2012 and 2014 under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir. The first major blunder that the franchise made was letting go of Gautam Gambhir in the 2018 auction. After which they have struggled with captaincy duties. After letting Gambhir go, players like Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, and Pat Cummins were assigned leadership duties but unfortunately, all have failed. Currently, under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, the team is looking formidable to win the championship.

However, letting Gambhir go was not the only blunder that the team made, they even let Suryakumar Yadav in the 2018 auctions. Apart from that the franchise even let Shubman Gill go in the 2022 mega auction which can be termed as one of the major blunders given the kind of form in which both these players are. 

5. Royal Challengers Bangalore: Releasing KL Rahul, Heinrich Klaasen and Yuzvendra Chahal

Arguably, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have the most loyal fanbase in the tournament with their fans turning up to support the franchise even after knowing that the team have not won anything in 16 years. One of the major reasons behind their failure in all these seasons has been the management’s lacklustre team selection. Over the years, franchises have invested millions of dollars in auctions on numerous players. However, if a player fails to perform in a particular season, franchises often opt to release them from their contracts.

Several players have then gone on to do wonders for the other franchises in which they play. One of the most shocking decisions that the franchise made was in the 2022 auction where they did not retain Yuzvendra Chahal who is also the leading wicket-taker for the franchise as well as in the tournament. Not only that they even did not bid for the star India spinner. Apart from that they even let go of rising star Shivam Dubey after his poor outing in a couple of seasons. Talking about the international recruits, the devastating South African batter Heinrich Klaasen was also picked up by the RCB team in the 2019 edition and then they decided to let him go in the same year. Similarly, another major surprising decision that the franchise made was letting go of KL Rahul who was in sublime form in the 2016 edition of the IPL for RCB along with then skipper Virat Kohli.

6. Delhi Capitals: Letting go of Rovman Powell and Shikhar Dhawan

The Delhi Capitals have been the side who have had some solid names in the past and also had match-winning players there which they let go of. In the history of the tournament, the franchise has not been able to win the tournament and in fact, they have only managed to play just one final in the 17 editions of the tournament. One of the major reasons is the continuous turmoil that goes on within the team. Currently, the team is being led by Rishabh Pant who is back after more than a year of gap from cricket due to a fatal road accident.

In the history of the tournament, the franchise had some lethal batters who represented them, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, AB de Villiers, etc. which the franchise let. Just imagine if they all continued playing together, it was definite that the franchise would have managed to win at least one title. Keeping in mind, how the franchise is suffering to score runs at the death over in the ongoing IPL 2024, their decision to let go of Rovman Powell is certainly under scrutiny.

7. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Not retaining David Warner

The David Warner and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) saga is something that is known to all. It would be no wrong to say that how the SRH let a legendary like David Warner go attracted a lot of criticism. He was the skipper who let the franchise win their maiden and to date the only IPL championship. The level of turmoil between Warner and the franchise is such that SRH have blocked Warner from all of their social media handles.

Following the IPL 2024 auctions, where Travis Head and Pat Cummins joined the SRH franchise alongside Warner, the legendary Australian batter extended his best wishes to both players. However, his message carried a cryptic tone, hinting at a cautionary note regarding the franchise's culture.

8. Mumbai Indians: Letting go of Glenn Maxwell, Buttler, Quinton de Kock and Yuzi Chahal

The five-time IPL winners, Mumbai Indians are among the teams who have been known for their warm culture as well as the best of environments that they provide to the players. The franchise has produced some of the Indian current stars like Jasprit Bumrah or Hardik Pandya for that matter. It was only under MI that Suryakumar Yadav blossomed and made his international debut.

However, among all these glitters there have been numerous instances where the team management has failed to identify some of the players and their bright future. Players like Glenn Maxwell, Quinton de Kock, and Yuzvendra Chahal all have been stars in their respective franchises now. But it was MI who gave Chahal the chance in the IPL.