Pat Cummins, Sam Billings, and Alex Hales have confirmed their departures from the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.

Cummins and Billings have already announced their withdrawal from the upcoming IPL to focus on their national teams. Hales missed last year’s IPL due to bubble-fatigue and returned to the England squad ahead of the T20 World Cup.

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“I’ve made the difficult decision to miss next year’s IPL. The international schedule is packed with Tests and ODI’s for the next 12 months, so will take some rest ahead of the Ashes series and World Cup,” Cummins posted on Twitter. 

He continued by thanking the KKR team for their support in accepting his decision to skip the franchise league the following season.

“Thanks so much to @KKRiders for their understanding. Such a terrific team of players and staff and I hope I can get back there ASAP,” Cummins added in another tweet. 

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Billings announced on Monday that he would be concentrating on the game’s longer format and would be skipping the upcoming iteration.

“Have taken the tough decision that I won’t be taking part in the next IPL @KKRiders. Looking to focus on longer format cricket at the start of the English summer with Kent Cricket,” Billings tweeted on Monday.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity @kkriders. ! Loved every minute of it. An amazing franchise with some brilliant people. Hopefully see you again in the future,” Billings added.

The choice of Cummins, Billings, and Hales to miss the upcoming IPL owing to personal obligations and national team commitments will be respected, KKR stated on Tuesday.

“We respect @patcummins30, @sambillings and @AlexHales1’s decision of skipping next year’s IPL due to personal reasons and national team commitments. All the best, guys!” KKR’s official handle tweeted on Tuesday.

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As a result of the additions of Lockie Ferguson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Shardul Thakur to their roster, KKR was one of the most active teams during the IPL trading window. For the forthcoming auction, the two-time IPL Champions still have $7 crores available.

Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Lockie Ferguson were all acquired by the group led by Shreyas Iyer via trades.