Defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have retained as many as 22 players for the 2019 edition, with three players released.

England pacer Mark Wood was among the three players who were not retained by the franchise ahead of Thursday’s deadline for submitting the list of retained players. The 28-year-old had made his IPL debut in the 2018 edition, but played just one game for the Super Kings before eventually heading home to England to rejoin his county outfit Durham.

Along with Wood, two uncapped domestic players in the form of Kanishk Seth and Kshitiz Sharma were released from their contracts.

The franchise made the announcement on various social media platforms on Wednesday.

The Chennai outfit had returned to the IPL in 2018 after a two-year suspension and stormed their way to a third title under skipper MS Dhoni.

The franchise has kept hold of Wood’s compatriot all-rounder David Willey who had joined the 2018 IPL as a late replacement for the injured Kedar Jadhav. Both the players have been included in the retained list.

Also included in the squad is New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner who missed the 2018 edition because of a knee injury. The Blackcaps man is still sidelined for a prolonged spell as he continues his injury rehabilitation following his surgery.

He is, however, expected to feature at some stage in the 2019 edition.

The eight IPL franchises are expected to submit their final list to the league’s Governing Council by Thursday, while the player auction for the 2019 edition is set to take place in December.