RE: Indian Premier League 2017 {S-10} Discussion & Updates
IPL 2017: What can we expect from the player auction
The auction for the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is exactly two weeks away and all eight franchises will be busy formulating their strategy for it. Players’ auction is not a new phenomenon for the think tanks of all the eight teams but it has also proved to be quite dynamic in nature. To bag the right players, a team needs to have a proper auction strategy in place which is why the season begins even before the first ball is bowled.
Let’s take a look at the various plans that the eight teams might employ at this year’s auction to be held on February 20 in Bengaluru.
Gujarat Lions (GL)
In their maiden IPL campaign, the Gujarat Lions managed to secure the top spot in the group stage. This meant that the need for change as far as the Lions were concerned is minimal and thereby they have retained their crux of Indian and foreign players. However, noticeably they have released seven of their Indian players which automatically means that they will need reinforcements in this area.
Purse spent – 51.65 crore
Purse remaining – 14.35 crore
Total Players in the squad – 16 (limit: 25)
Overseas Players in the squad – 6 (limit: 9)
Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS)
In contrast to Lions’ campaign, Rising Pune Supergiants had a completely different 2016 IPL debut season as they finished seventh in the table. They’ve already released the likes of Kevin Pietersen from their squad and former-England captain has gone on to announce his unavailability from the competition. However, with the likes of MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane , Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith the batting department doesn’t seem depleted. It is the bowling, though, which looks extremely weak and this is something that Pune will look to strengthen.
Purse spent – 48.5 crore
Purse remaining – INR 17.5 crore
Total Players in the squad – 17
Overseas Players in the squad – 5
Delhi Daredevils (DD)
After investing heavily on their strategy of backing youngsters, Delhi Daredevils will be looking to back their stand in 2017. The think tank of Paddy Upton and Rahul Dravid will be looking to further implement this strategy. So a few more youngsters going Delhi’s way seems extremely likely. However, what the Daredevils will be looking to add on to their squad is a bit more experience to ensure that they survive the long run of the competition.
Purse spent – 42.9 crore
Purse remaining – 23.1 crore
Total Players in the squad – 17
Overseas Players in the squad – 5
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)
In 2016, Kings XI Punjab were left languishing at the bottom and this was primarily due to the fact that they did not have a potent pace attack which could knock teams off. Mitchell Johnson wasn’t certainly at his prime and has been expectedly released. The Indian set of players too lacked the spark to make inroads into the opponents’ batting line up. Hence this is one of the crucial areas that they will be looking to strengthen if they wish to finish further up in the table. With the likes of David Miller, Manan Vohra, Murali Vijay, Glenn Maxwell, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shaun Marsh and Wriddhiman Saha the batting department does look strong.
Purse spent – 42.65 crore
Purse remaining – 23.135 crore
Total Players in the squad – 19
Overseas Players in the squad – 5
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Despite having a consistent run of form at the top of the table, Kolkata Knight Riders have released quite a few notable players which includes the likes of Morne Morkel, Jason Holder, John Hastings and Colin Munro. Adding to that is the ban on Andre Russel which will be a huge setback for the two-time champions. This means that quite a few reinforcements are expected to be on the way. While the spin department looks well settled it is the middle order and the pace attack that KKR will be looking to strengthen as it doesn’t seem strong enough.
Purse spent – 46.25 crore
Purse remaining – 19.75 crore
Total Players in the squad – 14
Overseas Players in the squad – 4
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Mumbai Indians have retained a total of 20 players for this season of the IPL and it looks pretty well settled in all the departments. So it will be hard to predict who they will go for. But whoever they look to prize away from the auction it must be well thought of as they also have the least purse strings to loosen among the other teams. They cannot afford to be unmindful as they did last year, in the case of Nathu Singh, who was bought for a whopping Rs. 3.2 crore from a base price of Rs. 10 lakh. He was ultimately released this year after failing to live up to expectations. They have released the Kiwi pair of Corey Anderson and Martin Guptill. Hence a couple of batsmen and allrounders might well be what MI will be looking for at this years auction.
Purse spent – 54.445 crore
Purse remaining – 11.555 crore
Total Players in the squad – 20
Overseas Players in the squad – 6
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Virat Kohli will be pivotal to Royal Challengers Bangalores’ chances in the upcoming IPL 2017 season.
Last year’s IPL saw Royal Challengers Bangalore score heavily with their robust batting line up. But they did struggle to defend the scores they piled up. If there is one department that RCB will be looking to strengthen this time around it will be their bowling, especially their death bowling which has let them down consistently. Mitchell Starc alone will not be enough to plug the gap on the runs as he needs support from the other end. Having already released the likes of Chris Jordan and Varun Aaron, it will be interesting to see who they pick from this year’s auction. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli’s recent praise of Ben Stokes also gives rise to speculation that RCB might break the bank to capture the India captain’s on-field rival.
Purse spent – 53.175 crore
Purse remaining – 12.825 crore
Total Players in the squad – 20
Overseas Players in the squad – 8
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Champions from last season, Sunrisers Hyderabad haven’t tinkered around with their squad all that much as far as retaining and releasing of players is concerned. With David Warner in sublime form alongside Shikhar Dhawan, Naman Ojha, Deepak Hooda, Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh , the batting department looks pretty strong. The bowling too looks well settled with Mustafizur Rahman and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar expected to lead the attack. However, with the likes of Imran Tahir , Pawan Negi and M Ashwin up for grabs they could do well with some reinforcements in the spin departments. If that is the case then we could see a repeat of their feat from last year.
Purse spent – 45.1 crore
Purse remaining – 20.9 crore
Total Players in the squad – 17
Overseas Players in the squad – 5
IPL 2017: What can we expect from the player auction | The Indian Express
