Root, Holder among players released by RR ahead of IPL 2024; Buttler, Samson, Zampa retained

New Delhi [India], November 26 (ANI): England batter Joe Root, and West Indies stars Jason Holder and Obed McCoy are among the players released by Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year.

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Other players who have been released by the one-time champions are Abdul Basith, Akash Vashisht, Kuldip Yadav, M Ashwin, KC Cariappa and KM Asif.

Among the retained players are Indian stars Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Australian spinner Adam Zampa, England batter Jos Buttler.

Royals finished in fifth spot last season with seven wins and seven losses. They failed to clinch the playoff spot.

RR traded their batter Devdutt Padikkal to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in exchange for pacer Avesh Khan.

Royals' Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, shared thoughts on the team's strategy behind the retentions. He said in a statement by the team, "We had a disappointing season earlier this year where we didn't truly execute as we should have, but given our performances as Runners Up in IPL 2022 where we were so close, we know that the squad we have is capable of bouncing back in our pursuit of competing for the title again. We are excited to be retaining a strong core of players who we believe have the ability to win matches for the team. As a high-performance outfit, our goal is to keep refining across various aspects and we have been able to identify the areas where we need to improve considering the different combinations required to win matches during the course of an IPL season."

"On the other hand, every year, this is also a difficult time as you have to let go of some of the players who have contributed immensely to the team and its environment. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for everything they have done for the Royals, and wish them the very best for what's to come," the Sri Lankan legend added.

Rajasthan Royals: Players released: Joe Root, Abdul Basith, Jason Holder, Akash Vashisht, Kuldip Yadav, Obed McCoy, M Ashwin, KC Cariappa, KM Asif

Players traded out : Devdutt Padikkal

Players traded in: Avesh Khan

Players retained: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Prasidh Krishna. (ANI)