Who got what they wanted? Who missed out? A look at how the franchises fared at a historic IPL auction
Shashank Kishore and Hemant Brar19-Dec-202315:25
Who had the best and worst IPL auction?
Kolkata Knight RidersSquad strength: 23 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Mitchell Starc (INR 24.75 crore), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (INR 2 crore), Sherfane Rutherford (INR 1.5 crore), Gus Atkinson (INR 1 crore), KS Bharat (INR 50 lakh), Chetan Sakariya (INR 50 lakh), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (INR 20 lakh), Ramandeep Singh (INR 20 lakh), Manish Pandey (INR 50 lakh), Sakib Hussain (INR 20 lakh)
The wins: Knight Riders needed fast bowlers and they acquired Mitchell Starc for an all-time high of INR 24.75 crore. Towards the end, they also snapped up Gus Atkinson. In Mujeeb Ur Rahman and KS Bharat, they got a back-up spinner and a back-up wicketkeeper.
The misses: They rely a lot on Gurbaz coming good. Atkinson may not fit into the first-choice XI, and their Indian seamers lack experience. They also seem to be lacking the batting depth; Ramandeep Singh scored 127 runs at a strike rate of 222.80 in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but is unproven at this IPL.
Full squad Openers: Jason Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi Middle order: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, KS Bharat (wk), Manish Pandey, Sherfane Rutherford Allrounders: Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh Fast bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Gus Atkinson, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Sakib Hussain Spinners: Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash Sharma, Mujeeb Ur RahmanESPNcricinfo LtdSunrisers HyderabadSquad strength: 25 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Travis Head (INR 6.8 crore), Wanindu Hasaranga (INR 1.5 crore), Pat Cummins (INR 20.5 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (INR 1.6 crore), Akash Singh (INR 20 lakh), Jhathavedh Subramanyan (INR 20 lakh)
The wins: Sunrisers out-bid four other teams to get Pat Cummins for a whopping INR 20.5, while Wanindu Hasaranga, at his base price, was a steal. Travis Head was another big buy and can replace either Mayank Agarwal or Abhishek Sharma, depending on their form, at the top.
The misses: It will be nit-picking but perhaps they could have looked for a back-up for Abdul Samad.
Full squad Openers: Travis Head, Mayank Agarwal, Abhishek Sharma, Anmolpreet Singh Middle order: Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips (wk), Abdul Samad, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Upendra Yadav (wk) Allrounders: Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed Fast bowlers: Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh Spinners: Wanindu Hasaranga, Mayank Markande, Jhathavedh SubramanyanESPNcricinfo LtdChennai Super KingsSquad strength: 25 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Rachin Ravindra (INR 1.8 crore), Shardul Thakur (INR 4 crore), Daryl Mitchell (INR 14 crore), Sameer Rizvi (INR 8.4 crore), Mustafizur Rahman (INR 2 crore)
The wins: Most bases covered. Ambati Rayudu’s replacement in Sameer Rizvi. Two gun allrounders in Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell for the price (well, almost) of the released Ben Stokes. Shardul Thakur as the bowling allrounder and Mustafizur Rahman as a back-up for the injury-prone Matheesha Pathirana.
The misses: They missed buying Gerald Coetzee, who also plays for their SA20 side Johannesburg Super Kings (they went upto INR 3.2 crore) and Alzarri Joseph (their last bid: INR 2.8 crore).
Full squad Openers: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rachin Ravindra Middle order: Sameer Rizvi, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Shaik Rasheed, Aravelly Avanish Allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal Fast bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Simarjeet Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Mukesh Choudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mustafizur Rahman Spinners: Maheesh Theekshana, Mitchell Santner, Prashant SolankiESPNcricinfo LtdMumbai IndiansSquad strength: 25 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Gerald Coetzee (INR 5 crore), Nuwan Thushara (INR 4.8 crore), Dilshan Madushanka (INR 4.6 crore), Mohammad Nabi (INR 1.5 crore), Shreyas Gopal (INR 20 lakh), Naman Dhir (INR 20 lakh), Anshul Kamboj (INR 20 lakh), Shivalik Sharma (INR 20 lakh)
The wins: Mumbai have always liked their overseas fast bowlers, and it was no different this time. They got Gerald Coetzee, who can also bat lower down the order, and the Sri Lankan duo Dilshan Madushanka and Nuwan Thushara. They also picked up Shreyas Gopal as a back-up to Piyush Chawla.
The misses: In hindsight, they could have bid for Wanindu Hasaranga as they may end up playing only three overseas players in their XI.
Full squad Openers: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk) Middle order: Hardik Pandya (capt), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod (wk) Allrounders: Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Shams Mulani, Shivalik Sharma, Anshul Kamboj, Naman Dhir Fast bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Jason Behrendorff, Arjun Tendulkar, Akash Madhwal, Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Nuwan Thushara Spinners: Piyush Chawla, Kumar Kartikeya, Shreyas GopalESPNcricinfo LtdRajasthan RoyalsSquad strength: 22 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Rovman Powell (INR 7.4 crore), Shubham Dubey (INR 5.8 crore), , Nandre Burger (INR 50 lakh), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (INR 40 lakh), Abid Mushtaq (INR 20 lakh)
The wins: Rovman Powell, who leads Barbados Royals in the CPL, will add muscle to the middle order. Nandre Burger and Tom Kohler-Cadmore at their base prices are excellent back-ups for Trent Boult and Jos Buttler, respectively.The misses: They spent more than 90% of their purse on the first two buys (Powell and Shubham Dubey), With the remaining, INR 1.30 crore, they couldn’t buy the allrounder they were missing. Maybe they can coax a few overs out of Powell. Also, they already have Riyan Parag, who had an excellent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (279 runs and 11 wickets in 10 matches). Their squad size of 22 is the smallest among the ten teams.
Full squad Openers: Jos Buttler (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (wk) Middle order: Sanju Samson (capt, wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Singh Rathore (wk), Shubham Dubey Allrounders: Riyan Parag Fast bowlers: Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Nandre Burger Spinners: R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Abid MushtaqESPNcricinfo LtdDelhi CapitalsSquad strength: 25 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Kumar Kushagra (INR 7.2 crore), Jhye Richardson (INR 5 crore), Harry Brook (INR 4 crore), Sumit Kumar (INR 1 crore), Shai Hope (INR 75 lakh), Tristan Stubbs (INR 50 lakh), Ricky Bhui (INR 20 lakh), Rasikh Salam (INR 20 lakh), Swastik Chikara (INR 20 lakh)
The wins: Wicketkeeping back-ups in Tristan Stubbs and Kumar Kushagra for Rishabh Pant. A bargain buy in Harry Brook to strengthen their batting.
The misses: Brittle lower middle order. They also lack a back-up Indian opener to Prithvi Shaw, who has battled form and fitness issues.
Full squad Openers: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Shai Hope Middle order: Rishabh Pant (wk), Harry Brook, Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui (wk), Kumar Kushagra, Yash Dhull, Abishek Porel (wk) Allrounders: Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Sumit Kumar Fast bowlers: Lungi Ngidi, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Anrich Nortje, Rasikh Salam, Jhye Richardson Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky OstwalESPNcricinfo Ltd Punjab KingsSquad strength: 25 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Harshal Patel (INR 11.75 crore), Rilee Rossouw (INR 8 crore), Chris Woakes (INR 4.2 crore), Ashutosh Sharma (INR 20 lakh), Vishwanath Singh (INR 20 lakh), Shashank Singh (INR 20 lakh), Tanay Thyagarajan (INR 20 lakh), Prince Choudhary (INR 20 lakh)
The wins: Chris Woakes and Harshal Patel add value as bowlers who can also bat. Rilee Rossouw is a back-up for Liam Livingstone.
The misses: They could have bought back Shahrukh Khan – they lack an Indian middle-order batter. Towards the end, it got a bit chaotic. They first bought Shashank Singh, then realised they didn’t want him, and tried to unsuccessfully un-buy him. It might not have hurt them but it was a bit embarrassing.
Full squad Openers: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Prabhsimran Singh (wk) Middle order: Jonny Bairstow (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia, Ashutosh Sharma, Shashank Singh Allrounders: Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Chris Woakes, Harshal Patel, Vishwanath Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan Fast bowlers: Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Spinners: Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Prince ChoudharyESPNcricinfo LtdGujarat TitansSquad strength: 25 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Spencer Johnson (INR 10 crore), Shahrukh Khan (INR 7.4 crore), Umesh Yadav (INR 5.8 crore), Robin Minz (INR 3.6 crore), Sushant Mishra (INR 2.2 crore), Kartik Tyagi (INR 60 lakh), Azmatullah Omarzai (INR 50 lakh), Manav Suthar (INR 20 lakh), The wins: Pace reinforcement for Mohammed Shami in Umesh Yadav. The addition of Shahrukh Khan to an already strong finishers’ group.
The misses: Absence of a seasoned Indian wicketkeeping back-up to Wriddhiman Saha, which may result in them struggling to get Kane Williamson into their XI. Went up to INR 24.50 crore for Starc but couldn’t get him
Full squad Openers: Shubman Gill (capt), Wriddhiman Saha (wk) Middle order: Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Sai Sudharsan, Matthew Wade (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Robin Minz (wk) Allrounders: Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai Fast bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Darshan Nalkande, Umesh Yadav, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Josh Little, Spencer Johnson Spinners: Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Manav SutharGetty ImagesLucknow Super GiantsSquad strength: 25 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Shivam Mavi (INR 6.4 crore), M Siddharth (INR 2.4 crore), David Willey (INR 2 crore), Ashton Turner (INR 1 crore), Arshin Kulkarni (INR 20 lakh), Arshad Khan (INR 20 lakh)
The wins: Pre-auction trade for Devdutt Padikkal. Got spin back-up in M Siddharth.The losses: Lack of experienced Indian middle-order batters, which may prompt KL Rahul to bat at No. 4 instead of opening the innings
Full squad Openers: KL Rahul (capt, wk), Quinton de Kock (wk), Kyle Mayers, Devdutt Padikkal Middle order: Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Ashton Turner Allrounders: K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Prerak Mankad, Arshin Kulkarni, David Willey Fast bowlers: Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Yash Thakur, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mayank Yadav, Yudhvir Singh, Shivam Mavi, Arshad Khan Spinners: Ravi Bishnoi, Amit Mishra, M SiddharthESPNcricinfo LtdRoyal Challengers BangaloreSquad strength: 25 (overseas 8)
Players bought: Alzarri Joseph (INR 11.5 crore), Yash Dayal (INR 5 crore), Lockie Ferguson (INR 2 crore), Tom Curran (INR 1.5 crore), Swapnil Singh (INR 20 lakh), Saurav Chauhan (INR 20 lakh)
The wins: Lockie Ferguson’s buy in the accelerated round.
The losses: Lack of an experienced wristspinner to replace Wanindu Hasaranga and a specialist death bowler.
Full squad Openers: Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Will Jacks Middle order: Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Anuj Rawat (wk) Allrounders: Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Manoj Bhandage, Tom Curran, Swapnil Singh Fast bowlers: Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Rajan Kumar, Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal Spinners: Karn Sharma, Mayank Dagar, Himanshu Sharma, Saurav ChauhanESPNcricinfo Ltd
