It is inevitable that a few decisions made by the franchises while retaining their players haunt them back a few months later. With regards to IPL 2022, as well, this is happening. A few players who were not retained or who chose not to be retained are doing well at the moment. On the other hand, their old teams are missing their services dearly. Keeping this in context, in this article, we take a look at five released players who are doing well for other teams in IPL 2022.
Note: The stats hold good as of 14th April 2022.
1) Hardik Pandya (Gujarat Titans) – Mumbai Indians
Matches: 5 || Runs: 228 || Strike Rate: 136 || Wickets: 4
Mumbai Indians have lost five consecutive games while Gujarat Titans are sitting at the top of the table with just one loss. It seems as though Hardik Pandya is the difference between the two teams.
Yes, he was in bad form last season but it was surprising that Hardik was let go by MI. The player himself could have made the decision since he was getting a chance to captain in GT. Nevertheless, Hardik is in cracking form and it bodes well for Team India while MI will be regretting their decision.
2) Dinesh Karthik (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – Kolkata Knight Riders
Matches: 5 || Runs: 131 || Strike Rate: 218
Dinesh Karthik is one of the released players who are doing well for other teams in IPL 2022. The former KKR skipper is in top form for RCB this season. He is seeing the ball well and is striking at a terrific strike rate. However, in recent seasons for KKR, he was not able to do that.
On the other hand, KKR is missing a good batting show by their wicket-keeper. Sam Billings has been having an average tournament, so far, and it is Andre Russell alone who is holding the lower middle-order together. Hence, KKR is missing DK in the current form.
3) Shimron Hetmyer (Rajasthan Royals) – Delhi Capitals
Matches: 5 || Runs: 197 || Strike Rate: 177
Shimron Hetmyer was one of the best players for DC last season. Yet, he was not brought back by the franchise. It would be tough to expect DC to retain the West Indian then because there were more suitable retention choices.
Hetmyer has donned the role of a finisher with aplomb for RR. He is doing well despite the lack of batting below him. For DC, though, this is a problem with Rovman Powell not firing. That said, it is still early this season and it needs to be seen how the proceedings transpire in the coming weeks.
4) Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans) – Kolkata Knight Riders
Matches: 5 || Runs: 200 || Strike Rate: 152
Shubman Gill is also one of the released players who are doing well for other teams in IPL 2022. KKR surprisingly retained Venkatesh Iyer ahead of Gill, who was groomed for four seasons. It was a debatable decision since Venky had done well only in one half of IPL, that too, in UAE.
Gill is in red-hot form for his new team. He is scoring at a good strike rate and has already helped his team win two games. However, KKR is struggling with their opening partnership. Venkatesh Iyer has not looked fluent while Ajinkya Rahane is out of form. Therefore, releasing Gill has already proved to be costly for KKR.
5) Umesh Yadav (Kolkata Knight Riders) – Delhi Capitals
Matches: 5 || Wickets: 10 || Economy: 6.6
Delhi Capitals cannot be blamed for not retaining Umesh Yadav. He was not in good form and DC anyways had better players to retain. However, they will be wary of not utilizing Umesh last season because he is doing extremely well now.
The Vidharba pacer has been the best pacer in the powerplay this season. He is breathing fire with his deliveries and is inevitably collecting wickets. It is good to see the veteran doing well, especially after hardly playing in the previous two editions.
