So the dusts surrounding the auction for the latest edition of Indian Premier League have settled down. The teams have done all their permutations and combinations and the squads have been built.
After an immense battle for two days, which saw plenty of big names go under hammer and plenty of them go under the table(unsold), all the 8 franchises have done what they could. A total of 169 players were sold, of which 56 were foreigners. The foreigners included 4 members from Afghanistan and one from Nepal.
The tournament kicks off from April 7 and will see 8 teams battle it out again to lift the trophy on May 27.
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Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore will battle it out in a tournament which has been rescheduled after a request from the broadcasters. There won’t be any match now from 4pm or 8 pm, instead the matches will now start at 5:30 pm(Indian time) and the matches which were earlier played at 8pm will now start from 7pm.
Here we take a look at all 8 teams who will take part in the 11th edition of one of the most successful tournament of the world.
Chennai Super Kings
The team which is marking its return in the tournament has been able to bring back the core members of its team which won two titles. One of the most successful teams of the IPL retained their ‘local’ hero MS Dhoni, T20 specialist Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja before the auction. The team then used Right to Match card for Faf du Plessis and ‘Champion’ DJ Bravo to get back the basic elements of their teams.
They went with experienced players on the first day of the auction unlike the other franchises and saved a lot but could not use the savings on the second day. They went in big for bowlers but were out bidden.
Retained Players: MS Dhoni (15 crore), Suresh Raina (11 c), Ravindra Jadeja (7 crore)
Big buys in auction: Kedar Jadhav (7.8 crore), Dwayne Bravo (6.4 crore) RTM, Karn Sharma (5 crore), Shane Watson (4 crore)
Chances: In form of MSD, they have a great leader and though his form can be questioned but the captain cool is very unpredictable. He still is as big a match winner as he was. But he cannot do it all alone. They have great all rounders in form of Jadeja, Watson and Bravo but they lack bowlers and top order batsmen. These two factors can come to haunt them.
Prediction- 5th
FULL SQUAD
MS Dhoni (retained 15 crore), Suresh Raina (retained, 11 c), Ravindra Jadeja (retained 7 c), Faf du Plessis (1.5 c), Harbhajan Singh (2 c), Dwayne Bravo (6.4 c), Shane Watson (4 c), Kedar Jadhav (7.8 c), Ambati Rayudu (2.2 c), Imran Tahir (1 c), Karn Sharma (5 c), Shardul Thakur (2.6 Cr), Jagadeesan Narayan (20L), Mitchell Santner (50L), Deepak Chahar (80L), KM Asif (40L), Lungi Ngidi (50 L), Kanishk Seth (20L), Dhruv Shorey (20L), M Vijay (2 Cr), Sam Billings (1 Cr), Mark Wood (1.5 Cr), Kshitiz Sharma (20 L), Monu Singh (20L), Chaitanya Bishnoi (20L)
Mumbai Indians
Do they need any introduction? The franchise from the city, which is known for its history of legends, has won the coveted trophy 3 times. They are always known for their destructive middle order but had issues on top of the wicket last year. In form of Evin Lewis, the West Indian who gives Chris Gayle a run for his money, they have probably found the person.
Though they let go off Lasith Malinga, they have developed a Malinga of their own—Bumrah. They signed Fiz but probably ended up paying Krunal more than they would have wanted though the elder Pandya is as good a player as they needed.
Retained Players: Rohit Sharma (15 crore), Hardik Pandya (11 crore), Jasprit Bumrah (7 crore)
Big Buys in auction: Krunal Pandya (8.8 crore) RTM, Ishan Kishan (6.2 crore), Kieron Pollard (5.4 crore) RTM, Pat Cummins (5.4 crore)
Chances: With great T20 players—Rohit, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard—they have got the foundation. If JP Duminy, Evin Lewis, Mustafizur Rahman and Pat Cummins hit the form they are known for, they would be force to reckon with.
Prediction: Top 2
FULL SQUAD
Rajasthan Royals
Like Chennai, the winners of the maiden audition of the tournament are also making a comeback.
Unlike the popular belief that they don’t spend heavily but smartly, the franchise went in all out this season. After retaining just one player in form of Steve Smith, they added the core group which took Rising Pune Supergiant to final last time.
They bought some serious talents from the league around the world as well.
Retained player: Steve Smith (12.5 crore)
Big Buys in auction: Ben Stokes (12.5 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (11.5 crore), Jofra Archer (7.2 crore), Sanju Samson (8 crore)
Chances: They have a great mix of great players from all round the corner. From Rahane and Samson on top to Smith, Stokes and Buttler in the middle they have everything. They might though struggle for the bowlers a bit.
Prediction: Play-offs
Kolkata Knight Riders
They have also won the title two times so know what it takes to win the crown but their leader Gautam Gambhir is no more a part of the squad so they will have to rethink everything.
They spent heavily to get back Chris Lynn and also added Mitchell Starc before setting bid for Dinesh Karthik and their trusted wizard Robin Uthappa.
Retained Players: Sunil Narine (12.5 crore), Andre Russell (8.5 crore)
Big Buys in auction: Mitchell Starc (9.4 c), Chris Lynn (9.6 c), Dinesh Karthik (7.4 c), Robin Uthappa (6.4 c)
Chances: Sunil Narine does not pose the threat he once did anymore. But he has added a lot to his batting and that has made him dangerous again. Andre Russell is a great all-rounder though lacks the match practice. Though they spent on Lynn, Karthik, Uthappa and U19 stars but they lack firepower needed to win the title.
Prediction: 6th
FULL SQUAD
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Ever since the auction ended, there were talks around the corner that they have avenged their dismissal for 49 against KKR. They picked up all the bowlers from that match and the Kohli laid side now looks very threatening.
With great bowlers and batsmen they have a formidable team now. This can prove to be the season they have been searching for since a decade.
Retained Players: Virat Kohli (retained 17 c), AB de Villiers (retained 11 c), Sarfraz Khan (retained 3 c)
Big Buys in auction: Brendon McCullum (3.6 crore), Chris Woakes (7.4 crore), Colin de Grandhomme (2.2 c), Quinton de Kock (2.8 c), Umesh Yadav (4.2 c), Yuzvendra Chahal (6 crore) RTM
Chances: They look a serious contender for the trophy now. Throughout their history they have been known for their destructive line up but with addition of great bowlers they have gone a step ahead this time.
Prediction: Top 2
FULL SQUAD
Delhi Daredevils
They have got the leader they were searching for. Kedar Jadhav led DD in few matches. They now have a perfect mentor for the youngsters in the team but then the team might start giving the results after few years, they look to young to do it this time.
Retained Players: Rishabh Pant (15 crore), Chris Morris (11 c), Shreyas Iyer (7 c)
Big Buys in auction: Glenn Maxwell (9 c), Gautam Gambhir (2.8 c), Kagiso Rabada (4.2 crore)
Chances: They have bought Glenn Maxwell, Gautam Gambhir and Rabada but Maxwell will have to deliver, else Delhi might find themselves struggling again.
Prediction: 7th
FULL SQUAD
Kings XI Punjab
They had a huge purse to spend and they tried but all their big buys were matched by their rivals with the RTM card so that has left them struggling again.
Retained Player: Axar Patel (12.5 crore)
Big Buys in auction: R Ashwin (7.6 c), Yuvraj Singh (2 c), Karun Nair (5.6 c), KL Rahul (11 c), Aaron Finch (6.2 c), Marcus Stoinis (6.2 c)
Chances: They might find themselves struggling again. The Virender Sehwag’s side bought Chris Gayle, after he went unsold three times, and Andrew Tye but otherwise the team doesn’t look good enough.
Prediction: 8th
FULL SQUAD
Sunrisers Hyderabad
After retaining just David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to do well in the auction. They got back Rashid Khan, Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson. However with the addition of Shakib al Hasan and Manish Pandey they would be satisfied with the auction.
With the southpaws– David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan– back to open the audience could hardly ask for anything else, as of now.
Retained Players: David Warner (12.5 c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8.5 c)
Big Buys in auction: Shikhar Dhawan (5.2 c) RTM, Manish Pandey (11 c), Wriddhiman Saha (5 c), Rashid Khan (9 c)
Chances: The team looks almost the same. With Dhawan, Bhuvi, Warner, Williamson and Rashid they have managed to get back majority of the team and with addition of Shakib and Manish Pandey they have got a great team but if everyone doesn’t perform and other teams manage to get the balance early they might fail to replicate their performances.
Prediction: Play-offs
FULL SQUAD
David Warner (retained 12.5 c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (retained 8.5 c), Shikhar Dhawan (5.2 c), Shakib Al Hasan (2 c), Kane Williamson (3 c), Manish Pandey (11 c), Carlos Brathwaite (2 c), Yusuf Pathan (1.9 c), Wriddhiman Saha (5 c), Rashid Khan (9 c), Ricky Bhui (20 Lakh), Deepak Hooda (3.6 c), Siddarth Kaul (3.8 c), T Natarajan (40 Lakh), Basil Thampi (95 Lakh), Khaleel Ahmed (3 c), Mohammad Nabi (1 Cr), Sandeep Sharma (3 Cr), Sachin Baby (20L), Chris Jordan (1Cr), Billy Stanlake (50L), Tanmay Agarwal (20L), Shreevats Goswami (1 Cr), Bipul Sharma (20L), Mehdi Hasan (20 L)