Bengaluru, January 20: Kings XI Punjab have retained 16 players and released 9 players including overseas all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Jimmy Neesham ahead of IPL 2021. The IPL 2021 auction is likely to be held on February 11.
As expected, KXIP have held on to last season's captain KL Rahul, his opening partner Mayank Agarwal and explosive Caribbean duo of Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran.
On the bowling front, seasoned seamers Mohammed Shami and Chris Jordan, alongside spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin have also been retained.
Meanwhile, few of India's domestic talents like Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel and Darshan Nalkande were also retained for the 2021 Dream11 Indian Premier League.
KXIP have retained 13 Indian players for the 2021 IPL season, including the likes of Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan, while only three foreign players have been retained by the franchise- Gayle, Pooran and Chris Jordan.
Apart from Maxwell and Neesham, KXIP released three other overseas stars including Sheldon Cottrell, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Hardjus Viljeon.
Meanwhile, Karnataka trio of Karun Nair, Krishanppa Gowtham and Jagadeesha Suchith along with Tajinder Singh were let go by the Punjab franchise.
Retained players: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel
Released players: Glenn Maxwell, Karun Nair, Hardus Viljoen, Jagadeesha Suchith, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Sheldon Cottrell, Jimmy Neesham, Krishnappa Gowtham, Tajinder Singh.