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IPL Auction: SRH, PBKS will have to play their cards right
Most of the teams will be on the lookout for a few key players but some have more work to do than others.
Indian Premier League’s (IPL) tryst with Kochi hasn’t been a memorable one, remember Kochi Tuskers? But that’s where the IPL caravan is heading next, be it only for a day, as ₹206.5 crore may be splashed in the auction room at a luxury hotel in Ernakulam on Friday afternoon.
Auctions used pretty much a lottery in the early days of IPL. Then, they caught on as rich and famous owners raising paddles and splashing cash attracted viewership. Now the teams do as much planning for auctions as they do for cricket. “You have the ultimate strategy and then you start thinking what if. And that takes you down rabbit holes. You don’t want to be caught short on the auction day… not panic and make a buy that hasn’t been thought about,” Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming told the team website.
Mini-auctions have their own flavour and idiosyncrasies. A total of 405 players – 273 Indians, 132 overseas - have been shortlisted for the auction, but most of the spending could be done in the initial rounds when the first 30 players go under the hammer. 87 playing slots are lying vacant and after those many names are called out, accelerated auction proceedings will commence where only those players who the franchises want to consider as an afterthought will go under the hammer again.
With lesser spending power – over ₹550 crores were splurged in last year’s mega auction – and fewer marquee players, we may see a few dormant tables in the auction room and at least one very rich player.
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin with the smallest purse (Rs.7.05 cr). Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs.8.75 cr) and Rajasthan Royals (Rs.13.2 crores) don’t have much money to play with either. That’s often a reflection of the teams being content with their squad balance from the previous season. KKR have some work to do though, with as many as 11 slots to fill with their meagre purse. Expect their new coach Chandrakant Pandit to have a few surprise value picks from the domestic circuit in mind with eight vacant slots being Indian. KKR were heavy spenders during the trading window. They acquired Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur and Rahmanullah Gubaz through trades to overcome the unpredictability of the auction.
Two of the teams which failed to make the playoffs and overhauled their support staff – Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings have released as many as 12 and 9 players respectively. With as much as Rs. 42.25 and 32.2 crores in hand, they will be the busiest. SRH will also be on the lookout for a new captain, having released Kane Williamson.
LESS BUZZ AROUND INDIANS
The most buzz revolves around Punjab Kings’ discarded captain Mayank Agarwal. The Karnataka batter didn’t have an IPL to remember and has lost his India place too. But with most teams holding on to marquee India players, and many franchises having top-order slots to fill, Agarwal could benefit.
Not much jostling is expected over Indian names. Wrist-spinners are an ideal fit for T20s but it’s the overseas tweakers who are expected to generate more interest. Adil Rashid after his T20 World Cup exploits could finally find a team. Australian Adam Zampa should also fancy his chances. There’s also Tabraiz Shamsi who has thrown his hat in the ring. The best Indian leg-spinners on offer - Murugan Ashwin, Shreyas Gopal and Mayank Markande don’t carry an impressive IPL CV. Veterans Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra are trying their luck too.
Many teams are in need of more wicket-keepers. Ex-West Indies captain Nicolas Pooran, India Test reserve Srikar Bharat and Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan will invite interest.
MI-CSK LOOK TO TURN A CORNER
All eyes will on Mumbai Indians and CSK, the two most successful teams in IPL history that were pushed to the bottom-most slots on the points table in 2022.
MI have released as many as 13 players to arm themselves with Rs.20 crores to spend at the auction. But new coach Mark Boucher is happy, with Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer returning from injury. “We will have our eyes on certain players at the auction. But I actually saw the side we put out on the Instagram page, the other day…even if we don’t get anyone else, it’s still a strong and balanced team,” he said earlier this month. However, with Kieron Pollard now retired and Hardik Pandya having moved to Gujarat, they do need some batting depth, preferably an all-rounder. Whether that means them breaking the bank to get Sam Curran, Cameroon Green or Ben Stokes, one will have to wait and see.
CSK haven’t panicked. They will have at least another season of MS Dhoni mentoring as a player-captain. Ravindra Jadeja appears to have warmed up to the franchise again. They would be searching for a replacement for the retired Dwayne Bravo. Sam Curran could fit in nicely. But he won’t come cheap.
UNCAPPED HOPEFULS
IPL auctions unfailingly deliver rags-to-riches tales. The whole lot of uncapped Indians who have thrown their names in the auction pool will be busy playing Ranji cricket across the country when at least a handful of them will hit the jackpot. J & K’s top-order batter Vivrant Sharma, Himachal Pradesh pacer Vaibhav Arora, UP quick Shivam Mavi, Saurashtra hard-hitting all-rounder Prerak Mankad, Saurashtra batter Samarth Vyas and Punjab seam all-rounder Sanvir Singh would all be expectant.
