IPL 2022 Mega-Auction: Released Players XI for whom teams will break the bank

A total of 27 players were retained by the eight previously existing IPL teams on Tuesday, which means all the rest of their squads - which includes some of the biggest names in international cricket - have been released into the mega-auction pool.

These players may attract some record-breaking deals as the ten IPL teams bid on them in the auction before IPL 2022. Conversely, the two new teams - based in Lucknow and Ahmedabad - will also be looking to make their picks from among these high-profile names for their first three picks - which they have to announce by December 25. There is also the chance - if these released players are not picked by Lucknow and Ahmedabad.

We try to pick out the best XI of players (including 4 overseas options) from among the players who are currently without contracts: (stats sourced from HowSTAT)

1 - David Warner - former captain of SRH, also played for DC in the past

Innings: 150

Not Outs: 19

Aggregate: 5449

Highest Score: 126

Average: 41.60

2 - KL Rahul - former captain of PBKS, also played for RCB, SRH

Innings: 85

Not Outs: 16

Aggregate: 3273

Highest Score: 132*

Average: 47.43

3 - Shubman Gill - formerly contracted to KKR, thought to be long-term captaincy option

Innings: 55

Not Outs: 10

Aggregate: 1417

Highest Score: 76

Average: 31.49

4 - Shreyas Iyer - former captain of DC

Innings: 87

Not Outs: 12

Aggregate: 2375

Highest Score: 96

Average: 31.67

5 - Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper) - formerly contracted to MI, Gujarat Lions

Innings: 56

Not Outs: 5

Aggregate: 1452

Highest Score: 99

Average: 28.47

6 - Ben Stokes - formerly contracted to Rajasthan Royals*, Rising Pune Supergiant

Innings: 42

Not Outs: 6

Aggregate: 920

Highest Score: 107*

Average: 25.56

Runs Conceded: 974

Wickets: 28

Average: 34.79

Economy Rate: 8.56

7 - Hardik Pandya - formerly contracted to MI

Innings: 85

Not Outs: 31

Aggregate: 1476

Highest Score: 91

Average: 27.33

Runs Conceded: 1313

Wickets: 42

Average: 31.26

Economy Rate: 9.07

8 - Rashid Khan - formerly contracted to SRH

Overs: 302.0

Runs Conceded: 1912

Wickets: 93

Average: 20.56

Economy Rate: 6.33

Strike Rate: 19.48

9 - Jofra Archer - formerly contracted to RR

Overs: 137.3

Runs Conceded: 981

Wickets: 46

Average: 21.33

Economy Rate: 7.13

Strike Rate: 17.93

10 - Harshal Patel - formerly contracted to RCB, DC

Overs: 210.4

Runs Conceded: 1808

Wickets: 78

Average: 23.18

Economy Rate: 8.58

Strike Rate: 16.21

11 - Yuzvendra Chahal - formerly contracted to RCB, MI

Overs: 408.0

Runs Conceded: 3097

Wickets: 139

Average: 22.28

Economy Rate: 7.59

Strike Rate: 17.61

Full list of players retained:

Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Ravindra Jadeja (16 crore), MS Dhoni (12 crore), Moeen Ali (8 crore), Ruturaj Gaikwad (6 crore)

Balance purse: Rs 48 crore

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Andre Russell (12 crore, 16 crore to be deducted from purse), Varun Chakravarthy (8 crore, 12 crore to be deducted from purse), Venkatesh Iyer (8 crore), Sunil Narine (6 crore)

Balance purse: Rs 48 crore

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): Kane Williamson (14 crore), Abdul Samad (4 crore), Umran Malik (4 crore)

Balance purse: Rs 68 crore

Mumbai Indians (MI): Rohit Sharma (16 crore), Jasprit Bumrah (12 crore), Suryakumar Yadav(8 crore), Kieron Pollard (6 crore)

Balance purse: Rs 48 crore

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli (15 crore), Glenn Maxwell (11 crore), Mohammed Siraj (7 crore)

Balance purse: Rs. 57 crore

Delhi Capitals (DC): Rishabh Pant (16 crore), Axar Patel (9 crore, 12 crore to be deducted from purse), Prithvi Shaw (7.5 crore, 8 crore to be deducted from purse), Anrich Nortje (6.5 crore)

Balance purse: Rs 47.5 crore

Rajasthan Royals (RR): Sanju Samson (14 crore), Jos Buttler (10 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 crore)

Balance purse: Rs 62 crore

Punjab Kings (PBKS): Mayank Agarwal (12 crore, 14 crore to be deducted from purse), Arshdeep Singh (4 crore)

Balance purse: Rs 72 crore