It is not particularly a ‘usual occurrence’ that there is a possibility of more than Rs 200 crores being spent on an Indian Super League mini-auction. However, we are likely to witness that on 23 December, as most of the franchises have opted for a major squad overhaul ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.
Let us have a look at the potential auction strategies of all ten teams:
1. Chennai Super Kings
Retained Players: Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Simarjeet Singh, Subhranshu Senapati, Tushar Deshpande
Purse Left: Rs 20.45 crores.
Potential Strategy: Chennai Super Kings lacked a crucial aspect of almost every successful franchise team - an experienced speedster. Hence, they have opted for an overhaul by releasing Adam Milne, Chris Jordan and KM Asif.
They could break the bank for Sam Curran for a plethora of reasons - he was successful in his previous stint with CSK, has a great rapport with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and has been bowling brilliantly for England in recent months.
Barring that, the yellow army could look to add to their spin department as a backup option for Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali, while following the surprising release of N Jagadeesan and the retirement of Robin Uthappa, it is imperative that they will need to find some Indian batters. The likes of Karun Nair and Manish Pandey could feature in CSK’s wishlist.
2. Delhi Capitals
Retained Players: Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel, Chetan Sakariya, David Warner, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lalit Yadav, Lungisani Ngidi, Mitchell Marsh, Mustafizur Rahman, Pravin Dubey, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rishabh Pant, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Vicky Ostwal, Yash Dhull, Aman Khan (trade)
Purse Left: 19.45 crores.
Potential Strategy: Delhi Capitals boast of a strong batting core featuring the likes of Rishabh Pant, David Warner and Prithvi Shaw, while they also have many talented bowlers in Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav.
The area where they can improve, however, is the all-rounders’ department. Given that they have a decent purse remaining and would not ideally be looking to buy a host of new players, Delhi could go gung-ho on either Ben Stokes or Cameron Green. Besides that, having released KS Bharat, Ashwin Hebbar and Mandeep Singh, the Capitals could also go for a backup Indian batter.
3. Gujarat Titans
Retained Players: Abhinav Sadarangani, Alzarri Joseph, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, David Miller, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Matthew Wade, Mohammad Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, R. Sai Kishore, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha, Yash Dayal
Purse left: Rs 19.25 crores.
Potential Strategy: Defending champions Gujarat Titans will be going into the auction with a clear strategy, as one look at the squad will highlight the two major areas of concern - overseas batting options and overseas pace options.
Having released Jason Roy and traded Rahmanullah Gurbaz to Kolkata Knight Riders, coupled with Matthew Wade’s unconvincing form, it seems likely that Hardik Pandya’s team will spend a major portion of their purse on a reliable overseas batter.
They will also need a pacer after trading Lockie Ferguson.
4. Kolkata Knight Riders
Retained Players: Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Lockie Ferguson (trade), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (trade), Rinku Singh, Shardul Thakur (trade), Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer
Purse Left: Rs 7.05 crores.
Potential Strategy: Kolkata Knight Riders will, for the most part of the auction, play the spectator’s role after spending almost all of their remaining purse on three traded imports: Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
However, the remaining purse could be spent on an Indian wicketkeeper and an Indian spinner. N Jagadeesan and KS Bharat are viable options from the first category, while Murugan Ashwin, Mayank Markande and a former KKR player in Piyush Chawla could be the two-time winners’ targets for the second category.
5. Lucknow Super Giants
Retained Players: Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, K. Gowtham, Karan Sharma, KL Rahul, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, Manan Vohra, Marcus Stoinis, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Quinton De Kock, Ravi Bishnoi.
Purse Left: 23.35 crores.
Potential Strategy: Lucknow Super Giants have been rather bold in their retention strategy, having let go of many big names. Given that they have released Jason Holder, it will be of utmost importance for them to find an overseas all-rounder, and they could be among the host of franchises interested in Cameron Green and Ben Stokes.
KL Rahul’s team will also need to find Manish Pandey’s replacement, with Mandeep Singh and Mayank Agarwal being among the options. Depending on the purse available after purchasing the primary targets, LSG could also acquire an overseas spinner.
6. Mumbai Indians
Retained Players: Akash Madhwal, Arjun Tendulkar, Dewald Brevis, Hrithik Shokeen, Ishan Kishan, Jason Behrendorff (trade), Jasprit Bumrah, Jofra Archer, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Mohd. Arshad Khan, N. Tilak Varma, Ramandeep Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Tristan Stubbs
Purse Left: Rs 20.55 crores
Potential Strategy: The most successful franchise of the competition, Mumbai Indians had a season to forget last time around and it is perfectly justified that they have released almost half of their squad. That, however, makes the overhaul procedure more tedious.
Mumbai will need an overseas all-rounder after Kieron Pollard’s retirement and Daniel Sams’ release.
They will also need an Indian pacer to replace Jaydev Unadkat, and having let go of both Murugan Ashwin and Mayank Markande, it will be immensely crucial for them to find a reliable Indian spinner.
7. Punjab Kings
Retained Players: Shikhar Dhawan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Raj Angad Bawa, Prabhsimran Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma, Baltej Singh Dhanda, Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Nathan Ellis, Bhanuka Rajapakse
Purse Left: 32.20 crores.
Potential Strategy: Punjab Kings released their former skipper Mayank Agarwal and will be aiming for a new dawn under Shikhar Dhawan’s guidance. Much of their purse could be spent on finding Agarwal’s replacement, while there are a couple of more areas they need to work upon.
Odean Smith’s performance was not what the Kings’ management would have hoped, and hence, it is not a surprise that the Caribbean all-rounder has been released. In Sam Curran, Punjab could find the perfect replacement, while they will also need an Indian pacer now that Sandeep Sharma and Ishan Porel are no longer associated with the team.
8. Rajasthan Royals
Retained Players: Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Jos Buttler, K.C Cariappa, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Obed Mccoy, Prasidh Krishna, R. Ashwin, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer, Trent Boult, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal
Purse Left: 32.50 crores
Potential Strategy: Like KKR, last season’s runners-up Rajasthan Royals have also used up most of their funds ahead of the auction, having opted to retain their core. Among the departments they will set their sights on, are overseas all-rounders and Indian pacers.
Having released James Neesham and Nathan Coulter-Nile, the Royals have freed up funds which could be used in purchasing players like Mohammad Nabi and Jason Holder. Barring that, they could reunite with a former RR star, Jaydev Unadkat.
9. Royal Challengers Bangalore
Retained Players: Akash Deep, Anuj Rawat, David Willey, Dinesh Karthik, Faf Du Plessis, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahamad, Siddharth Kaul, Suyash Prabhudessai, Virat Kohli, Wanindu Hasaranga
Purse Left: 8.75 crores
Potential Strategy: Royal Challengers Bangalore released only four players, which makes it evident that they are satisfied with their squad and will only be looking to invest in backups. The likes of Manish Pandey and Mandeep Singh could be good additions to an already decent batting core.
Barring that, the Challengers could also acquire an Indian spinner to serve as a backup for Shahbaz Ahmed. Shreyas Gopal, Amit Mishra and Murugan Ashwin are all viable options Faf du Plessis’ team could go after.
10. Sunrisers Hyderabad
Retained Players: Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Glenn Phillips, Kartik Tyagi, Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, T. Natarajan, Umran Malik, Washington Sundar
Purse Left: Rs 42.25 crores
Potential Strategy: Sunrisers Hyderabad will have the biggest purse among all ten teams, and subsequently, they might be successful in the inevitable bidding wars for players like Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Cameron Green.
Besides an overseas all-rounder, the team will also need to find a captain and an Indian batter, and they could find both attributes in one player: Mayank Agarwal.
After attending to their most important needs, Hyderabad can then add an Indian spinner and an overseas pacer to their squad.
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