Kings XI Punjab: What Did Your Team Do in Offseason?

The 2015 IPL season is here and fans can expect it to be one of the best tournaments to date. With the 2015 season coming on the heels of the Cricket World Cup, both athletes and fans are already in the swing of things when it comes to competitive spirit.

According to an official media release provided by the Indian Premier League, a total of 123 cricketers – including 79 Indians and 44 Overseas players – were retained by IPL franchises. Five Indian cricketers were traded in the offseason.

For those unfamiliar with the process, teams in the IPL essentially have a salary cap of Rs 63 crores, about a 5 percent increase from the 2014 season salary cap. The salaries of any retained players get deducted from this Rs 63 crore amount.

“Teams have the right, at their sole election, to extend player contracts for another season,” Ranjib Biswal, IPL Chairman, said.  “This allows for teams to make any course corrections to their squads as a way to strengthen their team ahead of the next season. It is a way to balance the need for continuity whilst allowing for churn which is very important from the league’s perspective. The released players will have the option to put their names up for the player auction for the 2015 season.”

Here is what Kings XI Punjab did in the offseason:

KXIP (Retained Players): Axar Patel, Anureet Singh, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karanveer Singh, Manan Vora, Mandeep Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Parvinder Awana, Rishi Dhawan, Sandeep Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Shaun Marsh, Shivam Sharma, Thisara Perera, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha.

KXIP (Released Players): Cheteshwar Pujara, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Murali Kartik.

Rohit Ghosh is a Senior Writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RohitGhosh. “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.