Nagpur: As many as four Vidarbha players were retained by their Indian Premier League franchisees while India pacer Umesh Yadav was released by KKR on the last day of IPL 2024 retentions on Sunday.
Stumper Jitesh Sharma, who made his India debut in the Asian Games winning gold for the nation, and southpaw opener Atharva Taide have been retained by Punjab Kings. All-rounder Darshan Nalkande will also play for Gujarat Titans once again. Yash Thakur, who did a fine job bowling death overs for his side Lucknow Super Giants has also been rewarded.
Gold Rate
Tuesday 28 Jan. 2025
India pacer Umesh Yadav has been released by Kolkata Knight Riders. While Sharma had become an important cog in the wheel for the north Indian franchise, Taide also did well in the limited opportunities that he was presented with. Sharma was equally brilliant with the gloves behind the sticks and with willow in front of the stumps and impressed not only his franchise people but also India selectors making way into the Indian team. He is presently part of the India squad playing the five-match Twenty20 series against the visiting Australians.
Nalkande, who has a knack of taking wickets, was also retained by GT. It was reported that Pandya was moving back to Mumbai Indians. Thakur used the slow bouncers and bowled balls close to the wide line to contain the batters. He has been rewarded for his consistency. Speedster Yadav, who has had mixed fortunes with his stints at KKR, could not keep his place. He might feature in the IPL auctions to be held in Dubai in December.
