IPL 2020 auction: Full list of players retained, released by Mumbai Indians

Among the 12 released players are Evin Lewis, Jason Behrendoff and Alzarri Joseph, who had made some match-winning contributions to the side last season

Indian Premier League (IPL) defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) have released 12 of their players from last season ahead of IPL 2020 players’ auction, to be held in Kolkata on Dec 19. They have retained 18 players.

The Mumbai franchise retained their core team, including veteran Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga, despite his fitness issues. Among the 12 released players, Evin Lewis, Jason Behrendoff and Alzarri Joseph were the most prominent ones as they made some match-winning contributions last season. Lewis had given a flying start to the team during the powerplay in several matches, while Behrendoff had taken 6 wickets against Rajasthan Royals in a low-scoring game to provide his team a crucial win last season. Yuvraj Singh, who retired from all forms of cricket, including IPL, earlier this year, has also been released by MI.

New Zealand pacer Trent Boult, West Indian Sherfance Rutherford and Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni were traded in by the franchise, owned by Mukesh Ambani. MI traded out young leg-spinner Mayank Markande and batsman Siddhesh Lad to Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders, respectively, besides additionally releasing six overseas and four Indian players.

Among those retained are four-time IPL-winning captain Rohit Sharma, all-rounder brothers Hardik and Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who has been out of the India cricket team due to a stressed-back injury. Among the foreign players, Quinton de Kock, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Mitchell McClenaghan are the most notable among retained players.

Here is the full list of players retained, traded and released by Mumbai Indians:

Players retained: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Anmolpreet Singh, Jayant Yadav, Aditya Tare, Anukul Roy, Quinton de Kock, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan.

Players traded in: Sherfone Rutherford, Dhawal Kulkarni 

Released players: Evin Lewis, Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff, Beuran Hendricks, Ben Cutting, Yuvraj Singh, Barinder Sran, Rasikh Salam, Pankaj Jaswal, Alzarri Joseph.

Players traded out: Mayank Markande, Siddhesh Lad