IPL: Rajasthan welcome ex-SL skipper Sangakkara as Director of Cricket ahead of auctions

After effecting a leadership change, IPL inaugural champions Rajasthan have announced a change in the management as they eye to end their 12-year trophy drought in the IPL 2021. The franchise announced former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara as their new Director of Cricket ahead of the mini-auction slated to be held in February. 

Taking over his new role, the former Sri Lankan skipper remarked that he is 'thrilled' to be on board. Sangakkara will work in tandem with Australia's Andrew McDonald who is set to reprise his role as the Head Coach of Rajasthan. The announcement comes days after the franchise let go of skipper Steve Smith and passed on the leadership buck to young Sanju Samson for the upcoming season of the IPL. 

On the deadline day of submitting its players' retention list, the franchise announced that they would be retaining most of its squad. Rajasthan are the only franchise to have released just a single-player - Steve Smith. The squad has retained all its bigwigs including Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and even David Miller despite the Proteas power-hitter failing to have an impact in the previous edition. After submitting their retention list, the franchise had an amount of Rs 34.85 crores remaining in its purse. 

READ | As IPL 2021 Mini-auction Nears, Here's A List Of Players Retained & Released By Franchises

Uthappa traded off to Chennai 

MS Dhoni-led Chennai announced their first acquiring of the trading window which has been opened up until February 4. Chennai have acquired the services of veteran wicket-keeper batsman Robin Uthappa from Rajasthan in an all-cash deal, the franchise announced on late Thursday night. The move comes despite the team's criticism of housing several senior players, a factor which contributed to its dismal performance in IPL 2020. 

READ | Robin Uthappa Traded Off To MS Dhoni-led Chennai From Rajasthan Ahead Of IPL 2021 Auction

Taking to Twitter, the franchise announced its first trade of the season on Thursday adding to its 18-man strong squad that it retained on Wednesday. The franchise let go of veteran spinner Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh along with Kedar Jadhav increase its purse amount in a bid to inject fresh blood into the lineup during the mini-auction slated to be held in February.

Speaking on the development, Robin Uthappa said, "I really enjoyed my year at the Royals and had a great time being part of this franchise. I am now excited for the next part of my cricketing journey joining Chennai for IPL 2021."

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