Yuvraj Singh, the most expensive player of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has been released by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) while Delhi Daredevils skipper Kevin Pietersen was released along with Dinesh Karthick, Ross Taylor and Murali Vijay, according to media reports.
The Vijay Mallya-owned RCB had paid the 33-year-old all-rounder Rs.14 crore, an amount that consumed a massive share of their auction purse.
Yuvraj was the second highest run-getter for the side with 376 runs at an average of 34, including three fifties. He did not bowl much in the tournament, delivering a total of 22.4 overs that fetched him five wickets at an average of 37.40 and an economy rate of 8.25.
Despite having a star studded line up headed by Yuvraj, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, RCB finished second from the bottom in the points table with five wins and nine defeats in the 2014 IPL edition.
Earlier, the left handed batsman was not included in the 30-member Indian preliminary squad for the 2015 One-Day International (ODI) World Cup.
Delhi finished at the bottom of the table in 2014 with two wins in 14 matches and in their bid to revamp the squad, they have released former England skipper Pietersen (Rs nine crore), wicketkeeper Karthick (Rs 12.5 crore), opening batsman Vijay (Rs five crore) and former New Zealand captain Taylor (Rs two crore).
Pietersen scored just 294 runs in 11 matches at an uncharacteristic average of 29.40. Delhi will have an additional Rs 28.50 crore to spend in the auction to be held in January 2015.
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Senior left arm medium pacer Zaheer Khan and left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha have also been left out by Mumbai Indians.
Meanwhile, IPL 2014 runners-up Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) decided to do away with batsman Cheteshwar Pujara (Rs one crore and 90 lakh), medium pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji (Rs one crore and 80 lakh) and left arm spinner Murali Kartik (Rs one crore) from their squad for the next season of the IPL.
All three players had average outings in the seventh edition of the tournament.
Monday was the last day for franchises to send the IPL a list of players they wanted to release.