Financial reasons dictated the reason behind Gambhir’s exclusion hints Venky Mysore

The eleventh edition of the Indian premier league was flagged off last evening, when all eight franchises announced their respective lists of retained players before the IPL auction.

While most of the retentions went along expected lines, there were a couple of startling names that caught everyone by surprise, most notably Sarfaraz Khan.

Since RCB had to use up a significant chunk of their purse in retaining both Kohli and ABD, the franchise had to find a way to save some money for the all important auction in a few weeks from now.

With Sarfaraz being an uncapped player, RCB managed to save 4 crores by retaining him, which could now be used in bringing back the likes of KL Rahul and Yuzi Chahal in the auction.

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Some people feel that KKR played a very smart game by retaining Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Of course, the talking point was Gautam Gambhir’s release, as KKR did not retain the services of their legendary captain.

The legendary KKR captain has had a wonderful time at Kolkata, as Gambhir led them to two IPL titles in three years. There remains a strong and wonderful bond between Gambhir and Kolkata, as the people of the beautiful city still retain a lot of love for their adopted son.

But there a lot of doubts surrounding his longevity in the game, which is why KKR were not confident of retaining their captain. KKR chief executive, Venky Mysore, had the following to say about their retention strategy.

“A large part of the planning revolved around finances and various other factors.”

There is still a chance that KKR could use one of their RTM cards to bring back Gambhir into their fold. But as of now, that looks highly unlikely.