Franchises
on Tuesday confirmed their retention picks for the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier
League (IPL), with many big names being released into the auction pool.
Headlining that list is Indian opener KL Rahul, with the Punjab Kings (PBKS)
retaining only two players – Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh.

PBKS Director
of Cricket Operations Anil Kumble confirmed the retentions for the franchise
and also addressed why Rahul, one of the leading run-scorers in the last few
seasons, was released.

Kumble said
that while they wanted to keep Rahul, it the former skipper’s decision to leave
the franchise and enter the auction pool.

Also Read | IPL 2022: Full list of retained players by 8 franchises

“KL has
been the fulcrum for us in the last four years, and the last two years in the
time that I have been with Punjab, he has been the captain. Obviously, we
wanted to retain him and continue with him to be the focus for Punjab. But he
decided that he wanted to go back to auction,” the spin legend said in a video
posted on iplt20.com.

“And the
rules of the IPL before a big auction is that the player decides whether he
wants to be retained or wants to go back. So we respect that, hopefully, he
will be a part of that auction and let us see what happens,” he said.

Also Read | IPL: 5 marquee players who may play for new franchises from next season

Meanwhile, Rahul thanked his fans and said his time at Punjab “was a good ride”. Rahul posted a photo on his Koo account with the caption, “It was a good ride, thank you for the love see you on the other side.”

Koo App

Hardik Pandya,
Eoin Morgan, David Warner and Shreyas Iyer are some of the big names that have
been released by the existing eight franchises. The two new teams – Lucknow and
Ahmedabad – will be allowed to pick three players each (two Indians, one foreigner)
from the pool before the mega auction is held in January.

Rahul is reportedly
keen on captaining the Lucknow franchise. The Karnataka batsman has been one of
the best batters in the tournament since joining Punjab for Rs 11 crore in 2018,
scoring 2,548 runs in the four years since.