• Home
  • Featured News
  • From Sehwag To Shreyas Iyer When Franchises Proved Loyalty Is A Myth In Ipl

From Sehwag to Shreyas Iyer: When franchises proved loyalty is a myth in IPL

Soumyajit Dutta

IPL auction set to be commenced in December [Source: @randomthing_RT/X.com]IPL auction set to be commenced in December [Source: @randomthing_RT/X.com]

League cricket, especially if it's something like the biggest and richest cricket league in the world, often comes with compromises that force fans to trade performance for emotions. Yes, we are speaking of some of the gruesome player swaps over the decade that shook the fan base and quite literally 'played with the emotions.'

India is home to 1.4 billion people, and while it is quite understandable that not all of them follow the Indian Premier League, a sizeable margin of people does to support the franchises associated with some of the biggest cities of the country.

The futility of faith in IPL and the 'Releases'...

And... When it comes to fandom and possessiveness, which country can be better than India? From Thala MS Dhoni to Bengaluru's Virat Kohli, players are an emotion to their fans, and in some cases, even though the players also put in all of their faith in their franchises, they have been traded mercilessly, proving that loyalty is just a myth in IPL. 

From examples like Sehwag to the latest heartbreak of Nitish Rana, here are some of the major heartbreaks that fans have had because of some of the biggest trades in IPL since its inception.

Delhi Capitals

To start off with, Virender Sehwag, the star player of Delhi Daredevils, had been an asset for the team since the inaugural season of 2008 until the franchise decided to let go of the India veteran ahead of the 2014 season, as Kings XI Punjab roped him in.

Shreyas Iyer was another cricketer who was probably the only skipper who took the Delhi Capitals to their maiden IPL final in 2020. However, after an injury setback in 2021, he was released by Delhi only for KKR to rope him in 2022.

Rishabh Pant, who has been an inseparable part of the Delhi Capitals since his debut in the tournament, had his fate broken arguably due to arguments with the top brass of the management regarding financial and captaincy decisions. He was released ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction only for Sanjiv Goenka-owned LSG to buy him with the highest ever purse value in IPL auction history.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Shubman Gill, who was an asset and was discovered by KKR back in 2018, played plenty of matches for the franchise, especially in the 2020 and 2021 editions, where he scored 400-plus runs. However, the KKR management decided to part ways with him ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, where Gujarat Titans picked him up, and after two years, he became the captain of the franchise.

Shreyas Iyer, who joined KKR after leaving Delhi and led the team to their third title in 2024, was soon released that very year ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, only to be grabbed by Punjab Kings as the second most expensive player of the auction. 

Nitish Rana, another KKR star who gave his heart and soul to the franchise, saw the management part ways with him in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction after he served seven years with the team, making major match-winning contributions, including a peak 2023 IPL season where he scored 413 runs.

Gujarat Titans

Mohammed Shami hadn’t been a mainstay at Gujarat Titans for long. He was part of the team for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. However, after being ruled out due to injury for the 2024 season, the Gujarat Titans decided to part ways with him, with GT coach Ashish Nehra explaining that the auction dynamics and high price didn’t allow them to retain the ace Indian pacer. 

Nevertheless, Shami was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2025 season, where he had an underwhelming performance.

Chennai Super Kings

After being a vital cog of the team, Suresh Raina, aka Chinna Thala of CSK, was left unsold in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction, with his franchise not even attempting to bid for him. Raina, who had been with Chennai Super Kings for all but two seasons since its inception, had stellar performances, scoring over 5000 runs for Chennai. However, his exit was soon followed by his announcement of retirement from the IPL in September 2022.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss, exited RCB in 2018 due to a dip in his batting performance, which led the team to release the otherwise white-ball monster into the auction pool. However, he went unsold in the auction before being signed at his base price by Punjab Kings. 

Yuzvendra Chahal, one of the most popular and charismatic spinners from RCB, exited ahead of the 2022 IPL Mega Auction as the franchise decided not to retain him, sacrificing him for the sake of having a higher-value purse in the auction. Even though Chahal was RCB’s leading wicket-taker, this move stirred the fanbase over the massive decision.

Mohammed Siraj, the India ace pacer, had a heartbreak ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction as he was released by the franchise to secure other bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. However, though Siraj was traded off, he was bought by Gujarat Titans for ₹12.25 crore.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

David Warner had a heartbreak during the 2021 season when he was sacked as captain of the team and reportedly fell out with the franchise. Owing to both his dip in form and questions over his leadership, Warner was not retained by the team for the 2022 season. He also expressed his disappointment on social media about the way he was treated by the franchise.

Kane Williamson, the veteran New Zealand batter and former skipper, was also released by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the IPL 2023 Mini Auction, likely due to his poor batting performances. However, his exit left a huge void among the SRH fanbase. Williamson had been an integral part of the franchise since 2015.

After serving for more than a decade, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the underrated swing king of India, was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad after the IPL 2024 season. He was sold to RCB for ₹10.75 crore in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, ending his legacy as the franchise’s all-time leading wicket-taker.

Rajasthan Royals

Jos Buttler, the swashbuckling England batter and a mainstay of Rajasthan Royals for many years, was released ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction as the Royals decided not to retain him, following the trend of franchises parting ways with several English players. However, he was roped in by Gujarat Titans for ₹15.75 crore in the Mega Auction.