The D-day is here, as far as the retentions and release of players are concerned ahead of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While the noise is the highest of the speculations, mainly regarding the trade of Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya, the past week was filled with the news of the trades and decisions of players pulling out ahead of the official announcement by each of the 10 teams on Sunday, November 26.
Chennai Super Kings' purse has already gotten an addition of more than INR 20 crore with Ambatui Rayudu retiring after the completion of the 2023 edition and England Test captain Ben Stokes pulling out ahead of the 17th edition of the cash-rich league to manage his workload amid a Test series in India before and a T20 World Cup after.
Ahead of the retention day, another senior CSK player has withdrawn his name. Former South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius shared a post on Instagram on Sunday bidding goodbye to the franchise indicating that he won't be retained ahead of IPL 2024.
"Thank you CSK. It was epic. I would like to thank all the management, coaches, players and fans for my time at CSK. It was an awesome experience. I learnt so much. All the best for season 2024. Cheers," Pretorius said in a statement.
Pretorius, who made his IPL debut in 2022, was acquired by the five-time champions for INR 50 Lakh in the mega auction. He played just seven games for the Men in Yellow across two seasons while picking up six wickets with the ball and scoring 44 runs with the bat in five innings.
Now, CSK already have two overseas slots empty and a big purse to go in with in the mini-auction set to take place in Dubai on December 19. A few more players are set to be released by CSK as they look to prepare for a post-Dhoni era in the IPL.
