Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have failed to live up to expectations in the IPL so far and are placed sixth and seventh respectively on the points table in the eight-team competition.
Ahead of Saturday's event, here's a lowdown of ready references for the auction.
Following is the list of players who have been released by the different franchises ahead of the auction for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Shamshera's problem is a shocking inability to support its bombastic ideas with gripping drama. The result is the wastage of not one but two Ranbir Kapoors, observes Sukanya Verma.
After a miserable IPL 2020 season, which saw Chennai Super Kings in 7th place on the IPL points table, CSK achieved a magical turnaround in IPL 2021 to be crowned champions after the final against the Kolkata Knight Riders on October 15, 2021.
Eyeing a top-two finish, Chennai Super Kings will start as the firm favourites when they take on Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League, in Dubai, on Thursday.
Domestic giants Mumbai on Thursday broke the world record for highest margin of victory in the history of first-class cricket as they crushed minnows Uttarakhand by a staggering 725 runs on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final.
IMAGES from the match played between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings in Mumbai on Monday.
Images from the IPL 2022 game between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai
Yuvi came out to bat when Robin Uthappa's wicket fell and he provided the late flourish allowing India to post 218 runs on the board. India went on to beat England by 18 runs.
India ensured they stayed in the lead and didn't allow New Zealand to break through their defense throughout the match.
KKR are placed at the sixth spot with 12 points and they will not only have to win but do it with a big margin
'In auction economics, it is very difficult to retain everybody. We were aware of it...we will lose somebody. We will also get somebody in their place. Now, we have to get the best out of what we have.'
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming sought to play down concerns over the team's middle-order which has not been able to get going in recent games after they suffered their third defeat in a row, against Punjab Kings in Dubai on Thursday.
Check out what the players had to say on Chennai Super Kings' fourth IPL title.
Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham said bowlers love playing under captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni because he knows their strength and how to get the best out of them.
Besides the trophies, Bengaluru FC's coach Ashley Westwood has also won his team supporters and sold-out home crowds, says Laxmi Negi
The best-case scenario for RR would be Kings XI Punjab losing their last match and Sunrisers Hyderabad winning no more than one in their last two outings.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, in Dubai, on Monday.
Royals core comprises of three Englishmen -- Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer and their Australian skipper Steve Smith.
The camp is a part of Rajasthan Royals's preparations after their three-day camp in Guwahati, with hotter weather in Nagpur and varied pitches.
In huge development in the I-League, India captain and striker Sunil Chhetri was snapped up by debutants JSW Sports on Friday.
Chennai Super Kings will be determined to erase their IPL 2020 nightmare when they failed to make it to the IPL play-offs for the first time.
'... And give him the confidence and freedom to express himself.'
Sunil Chhetri, playing in his 121st international in the SAFF Championship, struck in the 27th minute to place himself just a goal shy of legendary Brazillian Pele (77 goals from 92 matches).
CSK finished the season in ninth place, having suffered 10 defeats while managing to win only four times
Images from the Indian Premier League final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, in Dubai, on Friday.
BCCI Secretary Ajay Shirke explains the process of zeroing in on the preferred candidate from the 57 applications received for the job of India coach.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights important numbers featuring the India team from the World Cups.
'Virat's career and captaincy are on auto-pilot mode right now.' 'He knows what he is doing and leads by example.'
Dhoni, who took two catches in the IPL final against Mumbai Indians, has now taken 94 catches and 38 stumpings.
Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara continued his good form with the bat as he and Robin Uthappa helped Saurashtra crush Punjab by eight wickets.
Here's the full list of players sold on Day 1:
Eight teams have formed some of the best combinations from a pool of 64 top cricketers in the players' draft for T10League -- the limited ten-over format cricket -- that will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would strive for a handsome win over struggling Rajasthan Royals in their last round-robin game to stay ahead in the IPL play-offs race in Sharjah on Thursday.
Mumbai City FC star Sunil Chhetri wants to see more Indians start upfront for their respective teams as the Hero Indian Super League 2 nears the 100-goal mark, saying the thought of scoring the landmark goal 'sounds special'.
Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting was awestruck by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's cool demeanour under pressure, describing the legendary Chennai Super Kings skipper as one of the greatest finishers of the game.
Sachin Tendulkar broke every possible cricket record during his playing days, but the only blot in his long and illustrious career was his failure as India captain. He had two stints of captaincy, in 1996 and 1999, but on both occasions was forced to give it up after the team fared poorly under his leadership. The batting icon reveals that the real reason behind giving up the captaincy was because it started to affect his personal life.
There is speculation about his retirement and the Indian captain happily responds with a smile that 'I don't know yet'.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's astute captaincy will be Chennai Super Kings' biggest weapon against a clinical Kolkata Knight Riders, whose troika of top-notch spinners promise to hold the aces in the high-octane Indian Premier League final in Dubai on Friday.
