The IPL 2023 auction is around the corner as the event is scheduled to take place in Kochi on 23 December and all the ten teams have been readying for the big day with their own set of strategies. A lot of planning goes into the process, and even though it’s difficult to predict what exactly is on the 10 teams’ minds ahead of the auction, we can still stitch together a blueprint of their potential strategies, goals, and targeted players.
Here we take a look at the IPL 2023 auction strategies of all participating teams:
Chennai Super Kings (Purse Left: Rs 20.45 crore)
List of players retained: Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Simarjeet Singh, Subhranshu Senapati, Tushar Deshpande
Released Players: Adam Milne, C.Hari Nishaanth, Chris Jordan, Dwayne Bravo, K.Bhagath Varma, K.M Asif, N. Jagadeesan, Robin Uthappa
Remaining slots: Indian – 5, Overseas – 2
CSK auction strategy: After releasing Bravo, CSK are set to prioritise an all-rounder in the auction window and as per sources they could break the bank for England bowling all-rounder Sam Curran, who was named Player of the Tournament in the recently held T20 World Cup. Moreover, Curran has already been part of CSK in 2020 and 2021 and MS Dhoni-led team will now eye a reunion with the young star.
The four-time champions are also on the hunt for a successor to MS Dhoni, with Kane Williamson, and Manish Pandey among the available options.
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Royal Challengers Bangalore (Purse Left: Rs 8.75 crore)
List of players retained: Akash Deep, Anuj Rawat, David Willey, Dinesh Karthik, Faf Du Plessis, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahamad, Siddharth Kaul, Suyash Prabhudessai, Virat Kohli, Wanindu Hasaranga.
Released Players: Aneeshwar Gautam, Chama Milind, Luvnith Sisodia, Sherfane Rutherford
Remaining slots: Indian – 5, Overseas – 2
RCB auction strategy: Given their low purse value, RCB won’t have the luxury to bid on big players like Sam Curran, Jason Holder, or Ben Stokes in the auction. However, RCB doesn’t even need to go big in the auction as they have retained most of their players. Having released Rutherford, RCB will like to buy an overseas seamer, hence they can target players like Reece Topley, Kyle Jamieson, and Joshua Little.
Also, RCB will also be fretting over the fitness of swashbuckling batter Glenn Maxwell, who broke his leg in a freak accident during a birthday party and is unsure when he can fully recover from the injury. Hence, the franchise might require a backup for Maxwell, which means they can bid for in-form batter N Jagadeesan, Manish Pandey, and Priyam Garg. Also, with age not on his side, Dinesh Karthik is unlikely to have another golden season, hence RCB may want to find his replacement and in that scenario, the franchise can target Dinesh Bana, wicketkeeper of the India Under-19 side that won the World Cup this year. Bana has the ability to hit big shots and can play the role of a finisher.
Delhi Capitals (Purse Left: Rs 9.45 crore)
Retained Players: Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel, Chetan Sakariya, David Warner, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lalit Yadav, Lungisani Ngidi, Mitchell Marsh, Mustafizur Rahman, Pravin Dubey, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rishabh Pant, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Vicky Ostwal, Yash Dhull, Aman Khan (trade)
Released Players: Ashwin Hebbar, K.S. Bharat, Mandeep Singh, Tim Seifert
Remaining slots: Indian – 3, Overseas – 2
DC auction strategy: DC’s primary target will be Australia’s young all-rounder Cameron Green, as revealed by coach Ricky Ponting a couple of months back. However, with another star all-rounder Ben Stokes available in the auction, Delhi might reconsider their strategy and opt for the experience that the England player possesses. Also, having released KS Bharat, Ashwin Hebbar, and Mandeep Singh, the Capitals could also bid for a backup Indian batter, thus targeting Priyam Garg, Dinesh Bana, and Manish Pandey among other options.
Gujarat Titans (Purse left: Rs 19.25 crore)
Retained Players: Abhinav Sadarangani, Alzarri Joseph, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, David Miller, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Matthew Wade, Mohammad Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, R. Sai Kishore, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha, Yash Dayal
Released Players: Dominic Drakes, Gurkeerat Singh, Jason Roy, Varun Aaron
Remaining slots: Indian – 4, Overseas – 3
GT auction strategy: Defending Champions Gujarat Titans have their bases covered. However, they traded speedster Lockie Ferguson and might be looking to buy a new seamer which means players like Reece Topley, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Wayne Parnell, Daniel Sams, and Joshua Little will be on their target list. Also, Hardik Pandya-led side need a middle-order batter and a backup for all-rounder Vijay Shankar, hence they can bid for players like Cameron Green, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Mohammad Nabi, and Shakib Al Hasan.
Rajasthan Royals (Purse Left: Rs 13.20 crore)
Retained Players: Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Jos Buttler, K.C Cariappa, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Obed Mccoy, Prasidh Krishna, R. Ashwin, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer, Trent Boult, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal
Released Players: Anunay Singh, Corbin Bosch, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Shubham Garhwal, Tejas Baroka
Remaining slots: Indian – 5, Overseas – 4
RR auction strategy: Having released players like Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, and Rassie Van Der Dussen, Rajasthan Royals need a middle-order batter and an all-rounder. Hence, they will be desperate to bring back Ben Stokes or go for Cameron Green or Sam Curran, but their low purse value might prove to be a hindrance. Therefore, as per their budget, Jason Holder, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi, or George Garton might prove to better bet.
Mumbai Indians (Purse Left: INR20.55 crore)
List of retained players: 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
Released Players: Kieron Pollard, Anmolpreet Singh, Aryan Juyal, Basil Thampi, Daniel Sams, Fabian Allen, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Rahul Buddhi, Riley Meredith, Sanjay Yadav, Tymal Mills
Remaining slots: Indian – 6, overseas – 3
Auction strategy: Mumbai Indians releasing Kieron Pollard did rounds of the internet for quite some time in November.
This will lead them in search of an all-rounder, probably a power hitter as well. But they will not have enough balance to break the bank, considering they have quite a bit of shopping to do.
They have retained the majority of their core players, but are looking for a larger overhaul. And the bigger target at the auctions will be to look for spinners.
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Kolkata Knight Riders – (Purse Left: INR7.05 crore)
List of retained players: 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
Released players: Pat Cummins, Sam Billings, Aman Khan, Shivam Mavi, Mohammad Nabi, Chamika Karunaratne, Aaron Finch, Alex Hales, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Sharma, Baba Indrajith, Pratham Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Sheldon Jackson
Remaining slots: Indian – 8, overseas – 3
Auction strategy: KKR had the audacity to release as many as 16 players. However, they have retained a few players who would make the core and can be seen to make the starting XI.
While it seems like they have quite a bit of shopping to be done, with as many as 11 slots open, it seems like they will do with fewer players. The amount left in their purse would also make it difficult for them to acquire more players.
But they might look for a spinner and a middle-order batter.
Lucknow Super Giants – (Purse Left: INR23.35 crore)
List of retained players: 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
Released players: Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Dushmantha Chameera, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, Manish Pandey, Shahbaz Nadeem
Remaining slots: Indian – 6, overseas – 4
Auction Strategy: Adding Jason Holder to their release list caught eyes of the cricket experts and fans alike. The fact also opened the door to the possibility of them planning to go after someone like Ben Stokes. After all, the English all-rounder has played for the same owners in the now-defunct team Rising Pune Super Giants.
The franchise might also want to invest in a couple of pacers and a spinner to back up Ravi Bishnoi. Albeit, with the players they have retained, a majority of their squad seems settled enough.
Punjab Kings – (Purse Left: INR32.2 crore) (12 slots)
List of retained players: 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
Released players: Mayank Agarwal, Odean Smith, Vaibhav Arora, Benny Howell, Ishan Porel, Ansh Patel, Prerak Mankad, Sandeep Sharma, Writtick Chatterjee
Remaining slots: Indian – 6, overseas – 3
Auction Strategy: Punjab Kings, as usual, have yet again made significant changes to their squad. The franchise released their skipper Mayank Agarwal and a few other players – of whom, only Odean Smith was the eye-catcher.
However, they have named Shikhar Dhawan as the captain and that should bring a sense of sanity. The squad lacks all-rounders and they might use their heavy purse in that direction.
They will also look for spinners to back up Rahul Chahar.
Sunrisers Hyderabad – (Purse Left: INR42.25 crore)
List of retained players: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik
Released players: Kane Williamson, Nicholas Pooran, Jagadeesha Suchith, Priyam Garg, Ravikumar Samarth, Romario Shepherd, Saurabh Dubey, Sean Abbott, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Sushant Mishra, Vishnu Vinod
Remaining slots: Indian -9, overseas – 4
Auction Strategy: SRH are one franchise who are looking for a complete overhaul of their squad and have displayed it quite in a straightforward manner. After ending ties with David Warner ahead of the 2022 season, the franchise also released Kane Williamson in the recent window.
They will be looking for someone who can lead the squad and it will interesting to see who they opt for the position. The likes of Joe Root or Ajinkya Rahane have a fair chance for the position.
While their bowling looks largely sorted, they will want some bigger names in the top order. A purse of INR 42.24 crore should help them acquire whatever they want, without a sense of overspending.
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