 "Cameron Green, Venkatesh Iyer and Liam Livingstone are expected to be among the most expensive players at the upcoming auction. AFP")
The Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction is just around the corner, with the event set to take place on Tuesday, 16 December in Abu Dhabi – marking the third consecutive year it’s taking place outside India. With teams having undergone a reset with the mega auction in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah last year, this year’s mini auction will be a shorter affair.
Some teams such as Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings are making mere cosmetic changes to their squads after a decent campaign earlier this year. Others such as Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders are undergoing an overhaul of sorts after a miserable run earlier this year.
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Ahead of the mini auction for the 19th IPL season, which will be taking place next summer, we take a look at some of the players each franchise is likely to target:
Mumbai Indians
The five-time champions have retained a majority of their squad, and are entering the upcoming auction with just five available slots and a purse of Rs 2.75 crore.
With a tight budget, MI could look at signing domestic talent, especially those who have been setting the stage on fire in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. MI could use a backup wicketkeeper-batter, preferably someone who bats in the top order. In that context, the franchise could go for Haryana’s Yashvardhan Dalal (Rs 30 lakh), who has been going all guns blazing this season.
Or if they want to spent nearly half of their auction budget on one player, maybe Jonny Bairstow – who has a base price of Rs 1 crore, and had been drafted in as a replacement late in the 18th season. Mumbai might also be eyeing the spin department, potentially bringing Vignesh Puthur (Rs 30 lakh) back into the mix after releasing him last month.
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The ‘Yellow Army’ have the second-biggest purse worth Rs 43.4 crore and have nine available spots, including four overseas players.
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With Ravichandran Ashwin having retired and Ravindra Jadeja drafted to Rajasthan Royals in exchange for wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, picking a world-class spinner will be the top priority for CSK, preferrably someone who’s Indian. Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 2 crore) and Rahul Chahar (Rs 1 crore) are some of the players listed in the first set of spinners who could be in their radar, although the two will have to improve their skills with the bat by several notches if they truly are to fill the void left behind by ‘Ash’ and ‘Jaddu’.
England seam-bowling all-rounder Sam Curran was also part of the Samson-Jadeja exchange, and thus will be representing the Royals next season. Expect CSK to break the bank to try and sign someone like Australia’s Cameron Green (Rs 2 crore). And if that doesn’t work out, players like Daryl Mitchell (Rs 2 crore) or Dasun Shanaka could (Rs 75 lakh) could be the alternatives, the latter being something of a budget buy. Or they could switch to a spin-bowling all-rounder like England’s Liam Livingstone (Rs 2 crore).
CSK are also likely to target an overseas frontline quick as a back-up for Nathan Ellis, and they might target South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee, Anrich Nortje or even Lungi Ngidi – who has worn the yellow jersey in the past.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The ‘Purple Brigade’ head into the upcoming auction with the largest purse – worth Rs 64.3 crore with 13 available slots, six of them for overseas players.
Like CSK, the Knight Riders are also in need of an overseas all-rounder, preferrably someone who had can strike the ball hard, handle the death overs and can finish games for the team. In other words, a replacement for West Indian seam-bowling all-rounder Andre Russell, who had announced his IPL retirement recently after representing the side for 11 years. Expect KKR to wage a massive bidding war for Aussie all-rounder Green with CSK, the two franchises with the biggest purses this auction.
They had also freed up a huge chunk of their squad by releasing Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who is also a seam bowler. One cannot rule out the possibility of KKR signing Venkatesh back for a cheaper amount than the Rs 23.75 at which they had retained him last year.
Alternatively, they might be inclined towards bringing in a left-arm pacer for variety, and might consider someone like Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi (Rs 1 crore).
Last, but not the least, they will also need need a wicketkeeper who’s also explosive at the top of the order, and Quinton de Kock (Rs 1 crore) and Bairstow (Rs 1 crore) could be the top picks.
Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings had a successful run earlier this year, reaching the final for the first time in 11 years, and only to fall short of a maiden title once again. They had into the auction with a purse of Rs 11.5 crore for just four available slots, including two overseas.
PBKS thus have the license to spend big on one player, or a maximum of two. Shreyas Iyer-led side will be hoping to fill the void left behind by veteran Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who opted out of the auction this year and has likely bid the IPL goodbye at the age of 37.
England’s Livingstone is the first name that comes to mind when looking at the players listed in this year’s auction who are similar to Maxwell in terms of their playing style. And given head coach Ricky Ponting’s penchant for picking players from his home country, he might also be inclined towards Cooper Connolly (Rs 2 crore). New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra (Rs 2 crore) could be another handy signing, although that will rejig the batting order a bit.
PBKS might also have their sights on a wicketkeeper-batter who can bat in the top-order as an alternative option for Prabhsimran Singh, and someone like Afghanistan’s Gurbaz might be a good fit here.
Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals had narrowly missed out on the playoffs in Axar Patel’s maiden season as captain despite a fantastic start. They enter the auction with a purse of Rs 21.80 crore with eight slots to fill, five of them overseas.
With DC having parted ways with Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis, they are in dire need of signing top-order batters, and the Capitals management might just lean towards overseas players in this regard.
Bairstow, de Kock and Gurbaz are likely to be the top players in their radar, or Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka – who had been in good form lately. Let’s not rule out a possible reunion with Prithvi Shaw in this context. They could also look to strengthen their middle order by signing the likes of Livingstone, who could double up as a finisher.
DC will also need to strengthen their pace department, and Jammu and Kashmir pacer Aquib Nabi Dar (Rs 30 lakh), who has been in red-hot form this domestic season and has already undergone trials with the franchise, might be an ideal partner for Mitchell Starc.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
The defending champions have Rs 16.4 crore left in their kitty but do not have much shopping to do. Their batting line-up and the bowling attack is largely set in stone but they would still be in the market to see if they can find some upgrades and a few back-ups.
The number one priority would be the back-up of an injury-prone Josh Hazlewood who was the star of their bowling attack last season. With a decent purse, they can go all out on a pacer of their liking.
Gerald Coetzee and Anrich Nortje could be two options if they want raw pace. Matt Henry is an option for new ball precision. They can also go back to Lungi Ngidi, who they surprisingly released ahead of this auction. A risky, but potentially rewarding, buy could be of Matheesha Pathirana.
RCB could also target Ravi Bishnoi or Rahul Chahar as their lone leg-spinner Suyash Sharma was inconsistent last season.
A few Indian domestic batting options will also be on RCB’s radar. Vidarbha’s Atharva Taide, Delhi’s Tejasvi Dahiya could be handy back-ups. If the franchise believes in Prithvi Shaw, he could be another option.
SunRisers Hyderabad
Despite having a fearsome batting unit, SRH could only win six games last season and finished sixth. They enter the auction with the third highest purse of Rs 25.5 crore, which is still considerably lower than the top two sides. Surprisingly, their squad does not have as many gaps with the batting line-up looking largely settled and the bowling too having some certain starters.
SRH traded Mohammed Shami to LSG, leaving them without any Indian new ball option. They will search for that in the auction with not much quality in the players available.
Akash Deep and Shivam Mavi could be on SRH’s radar if they are looking for a name with international experience. In the domestic scene, Jammu and Kashmir’s Aquib Nabi Dar and Karnataka’s Vidwath Kaverappa could be the targets.
While SRH’s top six is scary, they lack batting depth and there are not enough proven domestic options in the list. Rajsthan’s Kartik Sharma is making waves with some good knocks in the domestic season and he could be a target. Otherwise, they might have to rejig their foreign combination if they sign an overseas lower-order batter.
Lucknow Super Giants
With the fourth-highest purse of Rs 22.95 crore, the Rishabh Pant-led side will have to do some quality shopping. LSG finished seventh with six wins last year and had some major flaws in their playing combination.
They addressed the lack of dependable fast bowling options by trading in Mohammed Shami. They also brought in Arjun Tendulkar via trade to get an extra all-rounder.
What they need in the auction is a replacement to David Miller who had poor run last season. Liam Livingstone is set to be their top target with Cameron Green certainly looking out of reach. The return of Miller for a lesser price can also be not ruled out. They would also love to add a back-up to their overseas batting trio of Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran. Jonny Bairstow is good experienced option here who will also not cost much.
They will also look for a replacement of Ravi Bishnoi and Rahul Chahar might be a good low budget choice.
Gujarat Titans
The Titans dominated the league stage last season but a late drop in form saw them crash out in the Eliminator. However, they still look among the most solid sides in the league.
Their entire playing XI is already settled and all they have to do is now add some quality back-ups and the side seems good for another top-four finish next year.
They have four overseas slots left with Rs 12.9 crore in purse. Jos Buttler and Kagiso Rabada’s back-ups will be their biggest needs.
They can easily target one of Pathum Nissanka, Finn Allen, Jonny Bairstow, Jamie Smith and Shai Hope to get Buttler’s alternative. For pace back-up they can look for Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Will O’Rourke.
They can go hard on one player they want and then buy some foreigners for cheap to boost squad strength.
Rajasthan Royals
RR only avoided the wooden spoon thanks to their superior net run rate, otherwise they had a horror season.
They struggled to finish games last season and their bowling looked pedestrian. The lower-order issues have been certainly addressed by the franchise in the trade window as they brought in Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran by giving away Sanju Samson.
However, the bowling still has big holes. Jofra Archer needs quality support and they have the overseas slots to get a decent partner. With Sandeep Sharma expected to take up duties at the death, RR can focus on a good new ball partner for Archer. Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke are all good new ball bowlers who can add sting to RR’s attack at least in the powerplay. Spencer Johnson and Ben Dwarshius are decent left-arm options they can look at.
They will also need Indian spinners, especially a wristie, to add more dimensions to their attack. However, a low purse could mean that their scouts will need to some heavy lifting here as there are no names making huge waves in the domestic circuit right now.