The final retention lists are in, and I’m going to do a small dissection of each team, how they line up, what they are missing, who they can buy to cover these, trades and so on. I am expecting the IPL to return to a home and away format, which will also influence some of the picks. I will also investigate the different grounds that will be used, and the varying pace/spin/boundary % at each, which should further influence the picks made at auction - for example, it is common knowledge that Chepauk is a spinners’ paradise.
Firstly, we have Rajasthan Royals.
Players released: Anunay Singh (INR 20 lakh), Corbin Bosch (INR 20 lakh), Daryl Mitchell (INR 75 lakh), James Neesham (INR 1.5 crore), Karun Nair (INR 1.4 crore), Nathan Coulter-Nile (INR 2 crore), Rassie van der Dussen (INR 1 crore), Shubham Garhwal (INR 20 lakh), Tejas Baroka (INR 20 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: N/A
Purse remaining: INR 13.2 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: Sanju Samson (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa
It looks like they got rid of all the players that were basically back ups, and probably shouldn’t have wasted money on, which is good. What they lacked most last year was a quality all rounder, as they kept sending Ashwin in early to extend their batting. However, only having 13 crore for a quality all-rounder in the auction may not be enough, as all-rounders will probably be the hottest market at this mini-auction.
Once again, they are relying on Riyan Parag to come good, who has been in decent form in the Vijay Hazare 50 over competition recently, with two hundreds in his last 3 innings.
An ideal move would be to buy and actually play Neesham - he is pretty good(!), but that comes at the expense of leaving out Obed McCoy, which I think they can do for a fast-bowling lineup of Sen-Krishna-Boult-(Saini).
Gujarat Titans
Players released: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (INR 50 lakh), Lockie Ferguson (INR 10 crore), Dominic Drakes (INR 1.1 crore), Gurkeerat Singh (INR 50 lakh), Jason Roy (INR 2 crore), Varun Aaron (INR 50 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: N/A
Purse remaining: INR 19.25
Overseas slots remaining - 3
Current squad: Hardik Pandya (capt), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad
I predicted they would come last this year, instead they won (partly) due to Miller’s T20 rebirth. I still don’t think their lineup makes much sense, but trading away Ferguson and Gurbaz gives them some purse to get a few reserves.
Mayank Agarwal would be a good buy to open with Gill, and give them an extra overseas slot to play with, particularly if targetting someone like Odean Smith, although he won’t be cheap. Prerak Mankad would be another player that they definitely should target, although I can see him fetching 5-6 cr, particularly from a team like MI.
Punjab Kings
Players released: Mayank Agarwal (INR 14 crore), Odean Smith (INR 6 crore), Vaibhav Arora (INR 2 crore), Benny Howell (INR 40 lakh), Ishan Porel (INR 20 lakh), Ansh Patel (INR 20 lakh), Prerak Mankad (INR 20 lakh), Sandeep Sharma (INR 50 lakh), Writtick Chatterjee (INR 20 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 32.2 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 3
Current squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Shahrukh Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar
Releasing Agarwal and Odean gives them a large purse to work with at auction. They already have all 4 overseas slots filled (maybe Ellis for Rajapaksa), so would look to get a few backups. Having some more Indian batsmen is a necessity, so may look to buy Mayank back if he comes cheap, although Indian batsmen always come at a premium in IPL auctions.
KS Bharat is one they make look at to plug that hole, although he does not fit the “hit out, all out” mentality they played last season.
Mumbai Indians
Players released: Kieron Pollard (INR 6 crore), Anmolpreet Singh (INR 20 lakh), Aryan Juyal (INR 20 lakh), Basil Thampi (INR 30 lakh), Daniel Sams (INR 2.6 crore), Fabian Allen (INR 75 lakh), Jaydev Unadkat (INR 1.3 crore), Mayank Markande (INR 65 lakh), Murugan Ashwin (INR 1.6 crore), Rahul Buddhi (INR 20 lakh), Riley Meredith (INR 1 crore), Sanjay Yadav (INR 50 lakh), Tymal Mills (INR 1.5 crore)
Players acquired via trades: Jason Behrendorff
Purse remaining: INR 20.55 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 3
Current squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal
A lot rests on Jofra being fit for next year - if he isn’t, that is a severe blow to MI’s chances. Behrendorff is a good, cheap trade for their pace bowling.
It is sad, but fair that Pollard goes, as one of the best IPL players there was. A beast against arch-rivals CSK: 583 runs at an avg of 36.4, 14 wickets, 16 catches, and a batting SR of 171.97. A truly great all rounder of the T20 game, he will be missed.
MI releasing all their bad, fast bowlers does not solve their fast bowling problem, but will look to make purchases to solve that.
Prerak Mankad is one player they will be looking at: a seam bowling all rounder who can vary his pace, and hit a long ball: he hit 61 (25)* in the SMAT earlier this year.
Ishan Porel is another pacer who hasn’t got enough IPL chances considering his impeccable turnout for Bengal over the years.
Yash Thakur is a right-arm pacer who can swing it both ways: he has played 37 T20s, with 55 wickets at an econ of 6.68.
Odean Smith / Sam Curran are another two they will look at: a pace-bowling all rounder who can muscle it at the death.
However, they also need a quality wicket-taking leggie, so may look to get Shreyas Gopal.
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Players released: Jason Behrendorff (INR 75 lakh), Aneeshwar Gautam (INR 20 lakh), Chama Milind (INR 25 lakh), Luvnith Sisodia (INR 20 lakh), Sherfane Rutherford (INR 1 crore)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 8.75 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 2
Current squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep
RCB have been unusually conservative this year. I don’t think they needed to do much either. 8.75cr for 2 players isn’t a lot - they will look for backups, particularly in the top order.
They do not have a specific requirement of players to buy, and 8.75cr won’t get them anyone of massive impact, so will just go for backups.
Lucknow Super Giants
Players released: Andrew Tye (INR 1 crore), Ankit Rajpoot (INR 50 lakh), Dushmantha Chameera (INR 2 crore), Evin Lewis (INR 2 crore), Jason Holder (INR 8.75 crore), Manish Pandey (INR 4.6 crore), Shahbaz Nadeem (INR 50 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 23.35 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: KL Rahul (capt), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi
Freeing up 23 crorers and letting go of Jason Holder means they will look for a genuine all-rounder at the auction. Knowing this team, don’t be surprised if Ben Stokes ends up here, as a team lacking a number 3 - they have openers, so no need for Green, although they could go for Sam Curran too, which I think wouldn’t be a great purchase considering their already OP bowling.
Mark Wood could also be a huge plus if he is fit this season.
Chennai Super Kings
Players released: Dwayne Bravo (INR 4.4 crore), Robin Uthappa (INR 2 crore), Adam Milne (INR 1.9 crore), Hari Nishaanth (INR 20 lakh), Chris Jordan (INR 3.6 crore), Bhagath Varma (INR 20 lakh), KM Asif (INR 20 lakh), Narayan Jagadeesan (INR 20 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 20.45 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 2
Current squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Deepak Chahar, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana
This squad already looks formidable when they play at Chepauk, with low, slow, turning wickets, with Theekshana, Ali and Jadeja all contributing overs. They could go for Bravo for a cheaper price, considering he is also well suited to the Chepauk wicket, but they have shown faith in their new fast-bowling attack.
They could go for Sam Curran in typical CSK fashion, but I doubt that would be enough to shore up the evident gap in their batting, which we may see being filled by Kane Williamson or KS Bharat, both stable anchors. However, KW doesn’t seem like a good pick logically, considering he hasn’t been able to bat at a SR of above 110 or so for the last few months.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Players released: Pat Cummins (INR 7.25 crore), Sam Billings (INR 2 crore), Aman Khan (INR 20 lakh), Shivam Mavi (INR 7.25 crore), Mohammad Nabi (INR 1 crore), Chamika Karunaratne (INR 50 lakh), Aaron Finch (INR 1.5 crore), Alex Hales (INR 1.5 crore), Abhijeet Tomar (INR 40 lakh), Ajinkya Rahane (INR 1 crore), Ashok Sharma (INR 20 lakh), Baba Indrajith (INR 20 lakh), Pratham Singh (INR 20 lakh), Ramesh Kumar (INR 20 lakh), Rasikh Salam (INR 20 lakh), Sheldon Jackson (INR 20 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson
Purse remaining: INR 7.05 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 3
Current squad: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh
They engaged most in the trade market before the season, and basically got better versions of the released players, with an aggressive opener, a fast, wicket-taking bowler and a wicket-taking bowler (+ handy lower order bat). However, a 7cr purse is only giving them a limited amount of money to fill in the hole, and get suitable backups. Expect Rasikh Salam, and maybe Rahane to get brought back as bench players.
They are severely depleted in terms of players, and so need to make smart buys for low prices. We may see low-value SMAT/Vijay Hazare players get a gig, such as Yash Thakur, or Rahul Buddhi or Narayan Jagadeesan.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Players released: Kane Williamson (INR 14 crore), Nicholas Pooran (INR 10.75 crore), Jagadeesha Suchith (INR 20 lakh), Priyam Garg (INR 20 lakh), Ravikumar Samarth (INR 20 lakh), Romario Shepherd (INR 7.75 crore), Saurabh Dubey (INR 20 lakh), Sean Abbott (INR 2.4 crore), Shashank Singh (INR 20 lakh), Shreyas Gopal (INR 75 lakh), Sushant Mishra (INR 20 lakh), Vishnu Vinod (INR 50 lakh)
Players acquired via trades: NA
Purse remaining: INR 42.25 crore
Overseas slots remaining: 4
Current squad: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik
SRH go into the auction finally having used their brains and releasing many of their overpriced players, going into auction with the highest purse of any franchise, and also the most holes to fill in their squad.
Cameron Green is a player they are likely to go for, as an aggressive opener, who can bowl medium pace to complement Markram and Phillips’ part time spin and fill in the 5th bowler quota.
Ben Stokes is another player they could go for, as a batting all rounder who can play the anchor role while Phillips, Markram, Tripathi play the high-SR, high-risk innings.
They also lack a backup spinner, with Washington Sundar frequently getting injured.
Agarwal is also likely to be on their list, as an opener; also complementing the leftie Abhishek Sharma, who (in theory) should open.
Delhi Capitals
Players released: Shardul Thakur (INR 10.75 crore), Tim Seifert (INR 50 lakh), Ashwin Hebbar (INR 20 lakh), Srikar Bharat (INR 2 crore), Mandeep Singh (INR 1.1 crore)
Players acquired via trades: Aman Khan
Purse remaining: INR 19.45 crore
Overseas slots remaining 2
Current squad: Rishabh Pant (capt), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal
Done smartly from DC: they have released most non-valuable players (sorry Shardul) while creating a reasonable purse. Again, KS Bharat might be on their mind considering their middle-order failures last season, along with a backup like Ishan Porel or Jason Holder.
On another note, to increase the quality of the IPL, I would consider allowing each team to field 5 overseas players: 12 teams mean the IPL has 20% worse players, as players who would not normally get a gig (Rahane) get into a team’s first XI.
A few players I did not mention earlier, but could go for a decent price at the auction are Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran and Dominic Drakes.
Jordan, Rashid, Tom Curran are all players I don’t think make it into any teams first XI (Adil Rashid considering team buildup, not quality). Reece Topley is another good player, but any franchise taking him is taking a risk similar to MI and Jofra Archer.
That concludes my IPL Mini-Auction Preview. In my opinion, Ben Stokes will be (undeservedly) the most expensive player at the IPL 2022-23 auction.
I will release a teams best XI post-auction, after the auction on December 23, along with a preview of each ground and factors at that ground.
astute analysis and pls keep on writing its very informative and i get tons of info at once
Looks like we're in for another Gujarat win!!