/betbarter/media/agency_attachments/3YXcMKaocLoKtpo5Mw2o.png)
/betbarter/media/post_banners/QHwn7FL3CbtipHu45qY6.jpg)
India's Kedar Jadhav celebrates the dismissal of Bangladesh's Mushfiqur Rahim during the final one day international cricket match of Asia Cup between India and Bangladesh, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
The mini-auction for the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League is going to take place in Chennai, February 18. It will turn out a grand event as both uncapped and experienced players will go under the hammer. All the eight teams have announced their retention list.
Chennai Super Kings have surprised the fans with the players that they have decided to release ahead of the league's 14th season. CSK was expected to release a lot of players considering the way they performed last year. However, the franchise did not release more than six players.
One of the six players to be excluded from the squad was Kedar Jadhav. His exit from the team was entirely predictable as he failed to score in the last three seasons. In 2018, an injury excluded him from the first game of the season. In 2019 and 2020, Jadhav was unable to even score at a hit rate over 100. Jadhav only scored 62 runs in 8 games with a hit rate of 93.93. However, the batsman had a good season in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He scored 193 runs in 5 games with a strike rate of 133.1.
Let us have a look at the three teams that can choose Kedar Jadhav in the IPL 2021 auction:
1. Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers Hyderabad, along with the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals, look like one of the most settled IPL teams. SRH has retained 22 players ahead of the IPL auction. With just three positions and INR 10.75 crore left, SRH can still make one or two big buys. One area which they would want to focus on is their middle-order. While the team has very talented players like Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, and Virat Singh, they still lack significant experience. Vijay Shankar is the only experienced Indian middle-order batsman, so Kedar Jadhav is definitely a player to consider.
2. Royal Challengers Bangalore
Last season, RCB performed pretty well to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Will they improve in the 2021 season?
By releasing ten players, RCB will go to the auction with an INR 35.2 crore purse. The Royal Challengers Bangalore released Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Mann Singh and Möen Ali, and now they would be looking for a middle-order batsman. For the Virat Kohli-led team, Jadhav could be the right choice. In 2017, he had played for RCB and had a good season. He scored 267 runs in 13 games with a strike rate of 143.54 in 2017.
3. Kings XI Punjab
KXIP have not qualified for the playoff since 2014. Now since they have a massive budget of INR 53.20 crore, they can strengthen their team's core. KXIP have released some slots which must be fulfilled. The Punjab team might want to fill in the vacant places with an overseas player and an Indian batsman. Kedar Jadhav may turn out to be a decent option for them in the upcoming Auctions.