Aditya ChaudhuriThe first day of the IPL Mega Auction is done and it’s been a day filled with action.
From Ishan Kishan returning to the Mumbai Indians for a whopping INR 15.2 crore to the Kolkata Knight Riders battling it out to get Shreyas Iyer for INR 12.2 crore, it was a good day for Indian players all round. While Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel went for INR 10 crore, INR 10 crore and INR 10.75 crore respectively, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan went for INR 9 crore each.
Here, we take a closer look at the players the teams bought and what it means for each franchise going into the second day of the auction.
Chennai Super Kings:
Budget remaining INR 20.45 crore
Overseas players: 2
Ambati Rayudu – INR 6.75 crore
Deepak Chahar – INR 14 crore
Dwayne Bravo – INR 4.4 crore
Robin Uthappa – INR 2 crore
KM Asif – INR 20 lakh
Tushar Deshpande – INR 20 lakh
The defending champions went all out for Deepak Chahar and also bought handy batting options in Rayudu and Uthappa, the latter having been instrumental in the franchise’s win last season. The CSK also brought Bravo back, but they need to strengthen their bowling line on the second day.
Delhi Capitals:
Budget remaining – INR 16.50 crore
Overseas players: 4
David Warner – INR 6.25 crore
Mitchell Marsh – INR 6.50 crore
Sarfaraz Khan – INR 20 lakh
KS Bharat – INR 2 crore
Shardul Thakur – INR 10.75 crore
Kuldeep Yadav – INR 2 crore
Kamlesh Nagarkoti – INR 1.1 crore
Mustafizur Rahman – INR 2 crore
Ashwin Hebbar – INR 20 lakh
David Warner returns to his first-ever IPL team, with the opening pair of Warner-Shaw looking a mouth-watering prospect. Pant, Marsh, Bharat are good batting options, while Thakur, Nagarkoti, Mustafizur and Kuldeep should be able to provide Nortje with sufficient support.
Heading into the second day of the auction, the DC should be looking for a right-arm spinner and an international fast bowler.
Gujarat Titans:
Budget remaining – INR 18.85 crore
Overseas players: 4
Jason Roy – INR 2 crore
Abhinav Manohar – INR 2.6 crore
Rahul Tewatia – INR 9 crore
Mohammed Shami – INR 6.25 crore
Lockie Ferguson – INR 10 crore
R Sai Kishore – INR 3 crore
Noor Ahmad – INR 30 lakh
The new boys from Ahmedabad have started off their first auction quite well. Jason Roy should be the ideal partner for Gill up top, while the bowling unit of Shami, Ferguson, Rashid Khan and Tewatia looks good on paper.
The Titans will need to add a few more established batting options in the mix and a couple of all-rounders along with their captain Hardik Pandya.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Budget remaining – INR 12.65 crore
Overseas players: 3
Nitish Rana – INR 8 crore
Shreyas Iyer – INR 12.25 crore
Sheldon Jackson – INR 60 lakh
Pat Cummins – INR 7.25 crore
Shivam Mavi – INR 7.25 crore
Apart from Iyer, the KKR have brought back four of their former players. While Shreyas Iyer is the likely captaincy option, the Knight Riders will look to utilise their remaining picks on Day 2 to get a couple of more batting options.
Sheldon Jackson is their only keeper as of now, so the KKR can be expected to look for at least one more in that department.
Lucknow Super Giants:
Budget remaining – INR 6.9 crore
Overseas players: 4
Quinton de Kock – INR 7 crore
Manish Pandey – INR 4.6 crore
Deepak Hooda – INR 5.75 crore
Krunal Pandya – INR 8.25 crore
Jason Holder – INR 8.75 crore
Avesh Khan – INR 10 crore
Mark Wood – INR 7.5 crore
Ankit Rajpoot – INR 50 lakh
One of the two new teams on the block, the Lucknow Super Giants will be fairly pleased with their outing after the first day of the auction. They have covered their opening and keeping slot with Quinton de Kock, while Manish Pandey and Deepak Hooda will be valuable Indian middle-order batters. Jason Holder and Krunal Pandya will cover their all-rounder slots, while Mark Wood and Avesh Khan will lead their bowling line-up.
Heading into the second day, the Super Giants should look for a couple of spin options and backup for Wood and Khan.
Mumbai Indians:
Budget remaining – INR 27.85 crore
Overseas players: 2
Ishan Kishan – INR 15.25 crore
Dewald Brevis – INR 3 crore
M Ashwin – INR 1.60 crore
Basil Thampi – INR 30 lakh
The Mumbai Indians went all out and even a little bit more to get Ishan Kishan back, but other than that they were relatively silent on Day 1. Brevis is an exciting option, while Basil Thampi should provide some support to Bumrah.
The MI will need to get a few bowling options on Day 2 to set the squad.
Punjab Kings:
Budget remaining – INR 28.65 crore
Overseas players: 2
Shikhar Dhawan – INR 8.25 crore
Jonny Bairstow – INR 6.75 crore
Jitesh Sharma – INR 20 lakh
Prabhsimran Singh – INR 60 lakh
Shahrukh Khan – INR 9 crore
Harpreet Brar – INR 3.8 crore
Kagiso Rabada – INR 9.25 crore
Rahul Chahar – INR 5.25 crore
Ishan Porel – INR 25 lakh
The Punjab Kings may have lost KL Rahul at the top, but they have a solid top three in Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow. With Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh and Shahrukh Khan, the Kings have a good bowling unit and should look to fill in the middle order with a few solid options.
Rajasthan Royals:
Budget remaining – INR 12.15 crore
Overseas players: 3
Devdutt Padikkal – INR 7.75 crore
Shimron Hetmyer – INR 8.5 crore
Riyan Parag – INR 3.8 crore
R Ashwin – INR 5 crore
Trent Boult – INR 8 crore
Yuzvendra Chahal – INR 6.5 crore
Prasidh Krishna – INR 10 crore
KC Cariappa – INR 30 lakh
The Royals will be extremely pleased with their buys after the first day. Having retained mostly batters, the RR needed to get a good bowling unit; leaving Day 1 with Ashwin, Boult, Chahal and Prasidh Krishna, they will be more than happy.
The addition of Shimron Hetmyer will bolster the Royals batting line, and if the franchise can get a couple of good Indian batters, they should have a solid squad for the upcoming season.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Budget remaining – INR 9.25 crore
Overseas players: 4
Faf du Plessis – INR 7 crore
Anuj Rawat – INR 3.4 crore
Dinesh Karthik – INR 5.5 crore
Shahbaz Ahmed – INR 2.4 crore
Wanindu Hasaranga – INR 10.75 crore
Harshal Patel – INR 10.75 crore
Josh Hazlewood – INR 7.75 crore
Akash Deep – INR 20 lakh
The Royal Challengers Bangalore went all out to bring back Hasaranga and Harshal Patel, spending over INR 10 crore for both, but Faf du Plessis and Dinesh Karthik are the purchases that should hold the team in good stead. In du Plessis, the Royal Challengers will not only find stability at the top of the order but also a solid and experienced captaincy option.
Hazlewood and Siraj will be an interesting quick-bowling pair, and as the Bangalore franchise head into the second day, they will look for a couple of Indian batting options and a few more options in the pace department.
SunRisers Hyderabad:
Budget remaining – INR 20.15 croreOverseas players: 2
Nicholas Pooran – INR 10.75 crore
T Natarajan – INR 4 crore
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar – INR 4.20 crore
Rahul Tripathi – INR 8.5 crore
Abhishek Sharma – INR 6.5 crore
Priyam Garg – INR 20 lakhs
Karthik Tyagi – INR 4 crore
Shreyas Gopal – INR 75 lakh
J Suchith – INR 20 lakh
Washington Sundar – INR 8.75 crore
Proving to be one of the smartest franchises on Day 1, the SunRisers used their bids to bring back a lot of the core youngsters that they had been grooming for the last few seasons. The likes of Priyam Garg, T Natarajan and Abhishek Sharma are back, while Kane Williamson will have Nicholas Pooran as a wicket-keeping option, with Washington Sundar’s purchase giving the team the perfect balance.
Heading into the second day, the Hyderabad franchise will want to strengthen their batting a bit and provide Natarajan, Malik and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar—whom they brought back—some international fast-bowling experience.
