Find out who is staying and going from the franchise ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League
Steve Smith has been released by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League mini auction.
The Australia batsman has previously captained the Royals. Sanju Samson will skipper the team in 2021.
England allrounder Tom Curran has also been released.
Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer have all been retained.
Others to leave the franchise include Ankit Rajpoot, Oshane Thomas, Akash Singh, Varun Aaron, Anirudha Joshi and Shashank Singh.
🤷♂️ Not a secret anymore. #IPLRetention #HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily | #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/jUmC9FzwjH
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) January 20, 2021
Rajasthan have retained 17 members of their squad, and will bring in Kumar Sangakkara as director of cricket.
Owner Manoj Badale said: “We are excited to again be working with Ben, Jos and Jofra – under the new leadership of Sanju Samson. At the Royals we underperformed last season, given the potential of our playing group. We have an opportunity to correct that for our fans, and play to our potential – individually and collectively.”
Buttler said: “I am delighted to be playing for the Rajasthan Royals for a fourth year. It’s an exciting group to be part of with a great team spirit. I can’t wait to link up with the boys again, we are more determined than ever to be successful and make the Royals' fans proud.”
The 2021 IPL is expected to take place in April and May.
Squad: Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Robin Uthappa
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