5 cricketers who left their IPL teams on a sour note

The IPL 2022 auctions saw some magnificent biddings on February 13 and 14. We saw the likes of young Indian talent like Ishan Kishan, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer, Avesh Khan, Shardul Thakur, Harshal Patel of being sold on massive prices. But the tournament has always thrown surprises starting from the auctions till the finals.

Ever since the tournament started in 2009, each year it has grown bigger in size. This time in the auctions ,two news teams; Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans mark their debut. With 10 teams in the battle for the golden trophy, the bidding had to be a cut-throat competition between the franchises.

On the other hand, the IPL auctions are roller-coaster rides for the players too. For the management, it is all about using cricketing expertise to make the best team possible.

Rarely does it happen that a player is dropped in a cold blood by the management. But it has happened at times, when a player ends relations with management on bitter terms. It’s all about the human side of the whole process and over the years we have seen some players just going back from the teams never to come back again.

We look down at 5 players who ended their stints with their teams on a low note.

DAVID WARNER

The Australian batter was purchased by Delhi Daredvils at a steal price of 6.25 crores in the IPL 2022 bidding. His selection even attracted a meme from former Indian cricketer Waseem Jaffer. Jaffer jokingly said that though Delhi people are known for bargaining but getting David Warner for just 6.25 cr is a Sarojini Nagar market level bargain.

Delhi people are known to strike a bargain, but getting David Warner for just 6.25cr is a Sarojini Nagar market level bargain ? #IPLAuction2022 #IPL2022

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) February 12, 2022

David Warner also uploaded a video on his twitter account to express his joy of playing for Delhi Daredvils in 2022, a team with which he started his IPL journey in 2009.

But Warner’s last stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) was a sour one.Warner led the team to the title cup in 2016. But, the last season of IPL 2021 which was played in two cycles was a bit disappointing for the former Australian captain. From being stripped of captaincy to being left from the playing 11, Warner had a tough time. Even former Australian bowler, Brett Lee said that Warner was dealt harshly by Sunrisers Hyderabad management.

Warner himself was annoyed with SRH management and was looking for a fresh start. In November, 2021 a fan on Instagram wrote in the comments section of his account. "Tom moody head coach,warner captain”. Warner quickly responded with “No thanks”.

 MS DHONI

MS Dhoni was retained by CSK ahead of IPL 2022 at a whooping 12 crores. Dhoni led the team to lift IPL trophy in 2021 defetaing KKR in the final in Dubai.

So, his retention by CSK was justified. But the THALA was once also a part of Sanjiv Goenka owned, Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), a defunct team now. After the Chennai franchise was suspended for two years in 2016, MS Dhoni moved to RPS team as the captain. But the journey with the team didn't go well.  

The new IPL team devoid of talent finished seventh in the league with only five wins in 14 matches. In the next season, Dhoni was replaced by Steve Smith as the captain.

To make the matters worse, Harsh Goenka (Saniv Goenka's brother) later during the tournament targeted Dhoni with tweets. He praised Smith for totally outshining Dhoni and applauded the management’s decision to have him as the captain.Fans just didn’t like this and came all down on him. It was the last season for RPSG and they parted their ways with Dhoni not in a way anybody would have wanted.

Harsh Goenka You Have Proved You Are Harsh Haaarsh....Such A Brain Fade TWEET it is..So #Smithy 's problem came in #RPS owner too..#IPL pic.twitter.com/WV54jxG7oy

— Faizan khan (@FaizanMSD) April 7, 2017

SOURAV GANGULY

Sourvav Ganguly is the President of BCCI. But Prince of Kolkata's IPL days weren’t that hunky dory. His brush with team management of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) left him annoyed many at times. In 2011, he was dropped by the team as the management went for a complete overhaul of KKR.

Ganguly captained KKR in two seasons, 2008 and 2010, but couldn't take the team to the playoffs. His worst time with KKR was in 2009 when Brendon McCullum was the captain and Australia’s John Marshall Buchanan was the Head Coach. Ganguly didn’t gel well with Buchanan and the effect was visible on the team. It kept on losing games. In the whole season, KKR registered just 3 wins in 14 matches.

Buchanan was sacked as the coach and Ganguly reinstated as the captain in 2010. The team however still couldn’t qualify for the semi-finals and got 7 wins and losses each. In 2011, the KKR management changed the entire team. Ganguly was dropped from the team and went unsold. Gautam Gambhir was brought in as the new KKR captain.

Since then, Ganguly has spoken about his time with KKR. He also raised questions against KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan for not giving him much freedom to run the team while his successor Gambhir was given.

In Season 5 of the IPL in 2012, the Ganguly-captained Pune Superwarriors had a match with Gambhir’s KKR. Pune lost the match to KKR. But Shah Rukh Khan, who was in the stadium, walked up to greet Ganguly and they shook hands.

GAUTAM GAMBHIR

Gautam Gambhir led the bidding of a new team in IPL 2022, Lucknow Super Giants, to a phenomenal process. Gautam’s cricketing intellect made the new team look considerably strong on paper. For instance, Gambhir’s belief in Avesh Khan, for whom the management shed Rs 10 crore, was evident. Avesh's base was Rs 20 lakh.

Similarly, Gautam called the pick of Krishna Gowtham for Rs 90 lakh a steal deal because the all-rounder was purchased by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last year at Rs 9.25 crore.

As a player, though Gambhir played for KKR and Delhi Daredevils, his last season with Delhi was a sour grape for him.

After having led KKR to two IPL victories in 2012 and 2014, Gambhir moved to Delhi Daredevils in 2018 as the captain. Gambhir himself let the KKR management know of his decision to not continue with the team anymore. However, Gambhir’s stint with Delhi Daredevils lasted only 6 matches, out of which Delhi lost 5. Gambhir’s performance too (apart from the first match where he scored 55) was not convincing. His strike rate was 96.59 in five matches (85 runs of 88 balls).

In a surprising development, Gambhir stepped down as the captain of Daredevils. He was however available to play but the team never picked him in the Playing 11 after that.

True, that I’ve stepped down from DD captaincy. Just to clarify it was my call, nothing from the management or coaching staff. I may not be leading from the front but I will be the last man standing for @DelhiDaredevils. No individual bigger than d team. Very much a #DilDIlli

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) April 25, 2018

Writing a piece for the Hindustan Times, Gambhir questioned the team management as to why he was not selected to play despite being available in the dug-out. He wrote, that to step down as a captain was his personal decision and had nothing to do with the management. Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua the day before had tweeted that 'bold decisions are around the corner'.

The next day, Gambhir resigned as the captain. This does tell that there was something more to it.

1/2 I still think we have a great squad and can beat any team. However we need to click as a unit not just one department. I am confident still that we can turn around and bold decisions are around the corner. You saw a glimpse today with our improved bowling! We will go all out

— Hemant Dua हेमंत दुआ (@inspiranti) April 23, 2018

YUVRAJ SINGH

Yuvraj Singh went to enormous heights in IPL. But his state team Punjab, a team which he started his IPL innings with, left him disappointed. Yuvraj was a crowd puller for Kings XI Punjab. He led the team as captain in the inaugural season in 2008. He was replaced by the Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara as the captain in 2010. In 2011, Yuvraj moved to captain the now-defunct Pune Warriors India. But he came back into the team in 2018. His performance wasn't well and hence the team dropped him in the next season.

What startled the fans was a revelation by Yuvraj in 2020 when he said he wanted to run away from Kings XI Punjab as the management never liked him.

Speaking to news agency PTI, Yuvraj said, "One place I wanted to run away was KXIP. Every time I wanted a player, they did not give me. It was amazing [that] when I left, they had bought the same players. I was just like a captain for the sake of it. I loved playing for Punjab but wanted to get away from that franchise."