IPL auction 2022: 8 top Indian players who were not retained

From fans' speculating about who will go for how much on social media to journalists and pundits trying to analyse what the strategy of the teams will be at the auction tables, the buzz around the IPL mega auctions is huge this time, as 590 short-listed players will be going under the hammer this time. It has also been learnt that the franchises have been conducting mock auctions so that they are prepared in every sense when the market for the biggest player sale opens. The 8 older franchises were asked to retain not more than 4 players and release the rest ahead of the auction. For some teams like the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings this was a tough thing to do because over the years multiple players became synonymous with these teams, but some had to be let go of. The teams had to make some tough calls, while for others the choice was simple, because they were ready to build their teams afresh again.

TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at some of the biggest names in Indian cricket who were released by their franchises ahead of the mega auction:Hardik Pandya (Release by Mumbai Indians - Signed by Gujarat Titans as their captain)When Mumbai Indians opted not to retain swashbuckling all-rounder Hardik Pandya ahead of the auction, it came as quite a shock to the cricketing fraternity. It was in 2015 when the Mumbai franchise took Hardik under their wings. The 28-year-old, in his first auction, went unsold in 2014. But in 2015, Mumbai bought Hardik at a base price of INR 10 lakhs. From there on, Hardik never looked back and went on to become a household name. After an association of 7 years, this time, MI and Hardik parted ways as the franchise opted to retain -- Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav