Alex Carey was one of the six players to be released by the Delhi Capitals before the IPL 2021 auction takes place.

They released their list of retained players on the deadline, which is Wednesday, January 20. Six players including four international stars Sandeep Lamichhane, Jason Roy, Keemo Paul, and Alex Carey were released.

Australian keeper-batsman Alex Carey knew that he wasn't going to be one of the retained players for Delhi Capitals as he wasn't upto the mark in IPL 2020. Even though he slammed a century in the ongoing Big Bash League just a day after the retentions, Carey did not have anything to show for the Capitals.

IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals – List of players retained and released

Alex Carey was quoted by cricket.com.au as saying, "It wasn't a surprise. Those things, you get a bit of an inkling for and I didn't play a lot of cricket, just sat on the sidelines, so it probably makes sense to open that spot up for someone else."

"Hopefully there's an opportunity in this year's draft, but I'm really grateful for Delhi and Punter (Ponting) for picking me up in the first place," he added.

Along with the four overseas players, the Capitals also released Indian fast bowlers Mohit Sharma and Tushar Deshpande. All these cricketers might find a new team for IPL 2021 auction or might get picked up for the same side again, albeit for a lower price than their salaries in the recently concluded IPL season.

(With cricket.com.au inputs)