Defending champions Mumbai Indians on Wednesday released Sri Lankan pacer and Indian Premier League&rsquo;s highest wicket-taker Lasith Malinga ahead of the upcoming season.
Malinga, who has played a staggering 122 IPL matches, has 170 wickets to his credit, the highest in the cash-rich league, with the best bowling figures of 5-13.
<h2>Mumbai retain core</h2>
MI decided to retain the core of the team, including skipper Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock, star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, and all-rounders Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya.&nbsp;
As per the statement, the five-time champions now have 18 players in their squad, with seven spots open which can be filled in the mini-auction.
<h2>RR release Smith&nbsp;</h2>
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson replaced Steven Smith as Rajasthan Royals captain after the Australian batsman was released. Chennai Super Kings retained Suresh Raina. &ldquo;As the IPL has grown, the captaincy has become a year-round task, and as such strong local Indian leadership has become increasingly important,&rdquo; said RR owner Manoj Badale in a statement.
&ldquo;Sanju made his debut as a Royal, and it has been a joy to watch his development over the last 8 years. He is the ideal person to lead the Royals into the 2021 season,&rdquo; he added.
<h2>List of players released</h2>
Mumbai Indians&nbsp; . Lasith Malinga . Mitch McClenaghan . James Pattinson . Nathan Coulter-Nile . Sherfane Rutherford . Prince Balwant Rai . Digvijay Deshmukh
Chennai Super Kings . Harbhajan Singh . Kedar Jadhav . Piyush Chawla . Shane Watson . Murali Vijay . Monu Kumar Singh&nbsp;
Kolkata Knight Riders . Tom Banton . Chris Green . Siddhesh Lad . Nikhil Naik . M Siddharth . Harry Gurney
Kings XI Punjab . Glenn Maxwell . Karun Nair . Hardus Viljoen . Jagadeesha Suchith . Mujeeb ur Rahman . Sheldon Cottrell . Jimmy Neesham . Krishnappa Gowtham . Tajinder Singh
RCB . Chris Morris . Aaron Finch . Moeen Ali . Isuru Udana . Dale Steyn . Shivam Dube . Umesh Yadav . Pawan Negi . Gurkeerat Mann . Parthiv Patel&nbsp;
Delhi Capitals&nbsp; . Mohit Sharma . Tushar Deshpande . Keemo Paul . Sandeep Lamichhane . Alex Carey . Jason Roy
Rajasthan Royals . Steven Smith . Ankit Rajpoot . Oshane Thomas . Akash Singh . Varun Aaron . Tom Curran . Anirudha Joshi . Shashank Singh
Sunrisers&nbsp; Hyderabad&nbsp; . Billy Stanlake . Fabian Allen . Sanjay Yadav . B Sandeep . Y Prithvi Raj

MI decided to retain the core of the team, including skipper Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock, star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, and all-rounders Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya. 

IPL players retention: MI release Malinga, RR release Smith. Check full list

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Home / Sports / Cricket / Article / IPL players retention: MI release Malinga, RR release Smith. Check full list

IPL players retention: MI release Malinga, RR release Smith. Check full list

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