IPL-12: Yuvraj, Gambhir, Unadkat released

Kings XI retains Chris Gayle. Steve Smith returns to the IPL.
Delhi Daredevils sacks 10 players!

Rajasthan Royals retained Ben Stokes, left, the costliest player in IPL-11

IMAGE: Rajasthan Royals retained Ben Stokes, left, the costliest player in IPL-11Photographs: BCCI

Yuvraj Singh on Thursday, November 15, was released by the Kings XI Punjab ahead of next month's Indian Premier League auction.

Rajasthan Royals let go of left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat after paying a whopping Rs 11.5 crore (Rs 115 million) for his services earlier this year.

Delhi Daredevils expectedly released Gautam Gambhir, who stepped down as the team's captain in the middle of the 2018 season after a poor run of form.

Yuvraj, who last played for India in June 2017, was bought by KXIP at a base price of Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) at the mega auction held in January.

Chris Gayle, who too was lapped up by KXIP at his base price of Rs 2 crore, has been expectedly retained after a productive run in the 2018 edition.

The deadline to retain players ended on Thursday.

Steve Smith, who missed IPL-11 because of suspension from the game, will return for the Rajasthan Royals in 2019

IMAGE: Steve Smith, who missed IPL-11 because of suspension from the game, will return for the Rajasthan Royals in 2019.

The Royals released Unadkat but retained their another million dollar buy Ben Stokes. The Royals had paid a whopping Rs 12.5 crore (Rs 125 million) for the premier England all-rounder.

Senior Australian batsman Steve Smith has been retained after missing IPL 2018 due to suspension.

Apart from Unadkat, the other players released by the Royals are Anureet Singh, Ankit Sharma and Jatin Saxena.

Sunrisers Hyderabad dumped injured wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha along with West Indies T20 Captain Carlos Brathwaite.

The Delhi Dardevils flopped in IPL-11, but Rishabh Pant was the Most Valuable Player of the season

IMAGE: The Delhi Dardevils flopped in IPL-11, but Rishabh Pant was the Most Valuable Player of the season.

Apart from Gambhir, Delhi also released Jason Roy, Junior Dala, Liam Plunkett, Mohammed Shami, Sayan Ghosh, Daniel Christian, Glenn Maxwell, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Naman Ojha.

The retained Delhi players include Captain Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Amit Mishra and teen sensation Prithvi Shaw who made his IPL debut in the 2018 edition.

Mumbai Indians retained Kieron Pollard, left, Krunal Pandya, second from left, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, but let got of Mustafizur Rahman

IMAGE: Mumbai Indians retained Kieron Pollard, left, Krunal Pandya, second from left, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, but let got of Mustafizur Rahman.

Mumbai Indians retained 18 players, but released top international stars like J P Duminy and the fast bowling duo of Pat Cummins and Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman.

The franchise halso released 10 players which include one capped, five uncapped and four international cricketers.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande, Aditya Tare, Ishan Kisan, Rahul Chahar, Anukul Roy and Suryakumar Yadav have been retained by the three-time champions.

To maintain the mix of experience and youth, the franchise also retained Kieron Pollard, Ben Cutting, destructive West Indian opener Evin Lewis and the Kiwi pair of Mitchell McClenaghan and Adam Milne.

The management also backed Australia's T20 specialist Jason Behrendorff after the left-arm quick was recalled to the national side to face the Proteas.

Rohit Sharma -- the most successful captain in the IPL -- will continue to lead the Mumbai Indians next season.