(CMC) – Only three West Indies players have been retained by teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of the upcoming mega auction.

The window for the franchises to retain players for the VIVO Indian Premier League 2022 season closed on Tuesday, and Kolkata Knight Riders kept all-rounder Andre Russell and spinner Sunil Narine, while Mumbai Indians are holding on to all-rounder Kieron Pollard.

A total of nine Windies players have been released. They are: Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Fabian Allen (Punjab King’s XI); Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings), Shimron Hetmyer (Delhi Capitals), Evin Lewis and Oshane Thomas (Rajasthan Royals); and Jason Holder and Sherfane Rutherford (Sunrisers Hyderabad).

Each of the eight franchises retained their decided players in accordance with the retention rule framework.
The franchises are each permitted to retain up to four players, with a maximum of three Indians, two overseas players, and two uncapped players.

Each of the eight franchises used the Player Retention option with Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians opting to retain four players each.
Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad have retained three players each while Punjab Kings have retained two.
Of the 27 retained players, 8 are overseas and 4 are uncapped Indians.