On Tuesday, Sunrisers Hyderabad decided not to re-sign Kane Williamson for the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League. Williamson had led New Zealand to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Along with M.S. Dhoni, fellow Southerners Chennai Super Kings have kept India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja despite their contentious relationship over the captaincy issue. They have also released West Indies legend Dwayne Bravo, a 39-year-old T20 itinerant who now appears to be struggling towards the end of a tumultuous career.
Williamson is the prominent name to be released, though.
Williamson, who led the Sunrisers in the 2022 season, had only recently returned from an injury and had been having trouble with his form lately. As a result, the Sunrisers made the inevitable decision to terminate his contract.
The franchisee thanked Kane Williamson in a post on social media with the caption, "Always our Kane Mama!"
In 76 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Williamson has totaled 2101 runs at an average of 36.22 and a strike rate of 126.03.
Williamson was released, but the Sunrisers kept Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram of South Africa, Umran Malik, a young pacer with explosive potential, Glenn Phillips of New Zealand, veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abdul Samad, Rahul Tripathi, T Natarajan, Washington Sundar, Karthik Tyagi, and Fazalhaq Farooqi of Afghanistan.
Since none of the players that were kept have experience managing a top-tier team, they will now search for a captain during the mini-auction that will take place next month.
In the meantime, Dwayne Bravo of the West Indies, Adam Milne of New Zealand, Chris Jordan of England, N Jagadeesan of India, C Hari Nishaanth of India, K Bhagat Varma of India, KM Asif of India, and Rohin Uthappa of India have all been released by Chennai Super Kings. All of these players had retired from all forms of cricket in September.
Bravo joined CSK in 2011 and has twice taken home the Purple Cap (2013 and 2015). In the IPL Auction for 2022, CSK paid Rs 4.40 crore for him.
By keeping Ravindra Jadeja, who had reportedly shown interest in leaving the team after being named captain for the 2022 season but quitting in the middle of a dismal campaign, the CSK pulled off a surprise.
He apparently didn't like the way the CSK management handled him. However, it appears that their problems have been resolved, and Jadeja will continue to "Whistle Podu."
The CSK announced on Twitter with a photo of Jadeja whistling, "Eighth Wonder to stay with us!"
Since Dhoni will not play in 2024, they will need a new captain, therefore it appears to be a last-minute repair by the CSK management. Only time will tell if Jadeja regains control after the 2022 debacle!