Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

A Goodbye After 11 Years – THESE Top Names Have Parted With IPL Teams After Lengthy Stints

As the IPL mega auction ended, several long stints between players and IPL franchises also ended

The month of November 2024 witnessed one of the biggest sporting auctions in the world of cricket. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) teams splurged nearly INR 650 crore to revamp their squads. Therefore, while new players were brought in, several old players who had a long-standing relationship with the teams were let go.

Out of many, here are some of the top names who finally parted ways with their IPL teams.

A goodbye after 11 years

Indian pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar made his IPL debut in 2009 with Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru). He also had a stint with Pune Warriors India before joining Hyderabad Sunrisers in 2014. Since then, he has never played for another team, but next year, he will be again seen in a Bengaluru jersey—a team he will return to after 15 years. In 176 IPL matches played so far, Kumar has picked 181 wickets.

A move away from the capital

Rishabh Pant gained all the limelight during the auction for becoming the most expensive IPL player ever at a price of INR 27 crore. He was captured by Lucknow Super Giants, which marked an end to his relationship with Delhi Capitals, a team where he spent nine long years. The wicketkeeper-cum-middle-order batsman made his IPL debut in the Delhi jersey in 2016 and has never played for any other IPL team. So far, in 111 IPL matches, Pant has made 3,284 runs.

An unexpected goodbye

Started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2016, Jos Buttler was purchased by Rajasthan Royals in 2018 and was retained in 2022. He was Rajasthan Royals’ most destructive batsman, winning the Orange Cap in 2022 with 863 runs. It was the same year when Rajasthan Royals even reached the finale of the IPL. Last season, Buttler had scored 359 runs in 11 matches at an average of 39.88, including two centuries. However, in the auction, Buttler was picked up by Gujarat Titans for INR 15.75 crore, which left many shocked. His association with the Royals ended after seven years.

Siraj’s sad exit

Mohammed Siraj is considered one of India’s finest pace attacks, so he thought Royal Challengers Bengaluru would not let him go. However, he was picked by Gujarat Titans for INR 12.25, ending his seven-year-long relationship with Bengaluru. Siraj has played 93 games in the IPL so far and has picked up the same number of wickets since his debut in 2015 when he was roped in by the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana is still far from becoming a star name in the Indian national team. However, he is certainly one of the stars in the IPL and has a strong presence in Eden Gardens, the home of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Groomed by the Riders, Rana was the captain of the team in 2023 when Shreyas Iyer was ruled out. However, during the auction, the Kolkata management was clear on backing Venkatesh Iyer and spent nearly INR 24 crore to buy him. Therefore, Rana was no longer an option for the Riders and was roped in by the Rajasthan Royals, ending a seven-year-long stint.