Just over a week ago, India slipped to a heartbreaking loss to Australia in the World Cup final. After the completion of the tournament, a much-changed Australia and a new-look Indian side have locked horns in a T20I series. However, something else has hogged the headlines in the cricketing landscape – IPL retentions, releases and transfers, especially Hardik Pandya’s proposed move to Mumbai Indians. The Gujarat Titans’ skipper is all set to play for his old franchise.
So, which players have been retained and released? What are the perceived weaknesses of the various IPL franchises? What could be their strategies going forward into the auction? Let’s scratch beneath the surface to get the bigger picture.
Chennai Super Kings
Players retained: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway (wk), Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shaik Rasheed, Maheesh Theekshana, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu and Prashant Solanki.
Released players: Ben Stokes, Bhagath Varma, Subhranshu Senapati, Dwaine Pretorius, Ambati Rayudu, Kyle Jamieson, Akash Singh and Sisanda Magala.
Purse Remaining: INR 31.4 cr.
CSK might just target Rachin Ravindra in the auction, although he is hot property and a slew of other teams would also likely bid for him. Ravindra showed off his class and all-round skills at the top of the order for New Zealand in the World Cup. He has also gained a bit of a reputation as a fine player of spin. So, he could slot into the middle order in place of the now-retired Ambati Rayudu. Alongside his versatility as a batter, his slow left-arm orthodox bowling could come in handy in home conditions.
CSK could also keep a close eye on Ravindra’s teammate, Daryl Mitchell. He is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball going around, especially when he targets the straight boundaries. In addition to that, he can also bowl an over or two of seam. CSK might look to bolster their seam attack.
Gerald Coetzee, the South African speedster, doesn’t just hit the deck hard but is also deceptively fast. He is also a useful batter down the order. With Mitchell Starc available, CSK could even bid for him, especially in the backdrop of the franchise having more than enough purse at their disposal.
Sarfaraz Khan, Priyam Garg, Manish Pandey and Shahrukh Khan are some of the Indian batters available for CSK to bid, even though Shahrukh is more of a power-hitter down the order. Sameer Rizvi, Uttar Pradesh’s middle-order-batter, could also be a dark horse at the auction. Rizvi does possess nimble wrists and powerful forearms.
Rajasthan Royals
Retained Players: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Ravichandran Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore and Kuldeep Sen.
Released players: Joe Root, Abdul Basith, Jason Holder, Obed McCoy, Murugan Ashwin, KC Cariappa, KM Asif, Akash Vashisht and Kuldip Yadav. Player Traded: Avesh Khan moved from Lucknow Super Giants to Rajasthan Royals in a trade for Devdutt Padikkal.
Purse Remaining: 14.5 cr.
RR, who finished fifth in IPL 2023, have retained the core of their squad. One of their smart buys at the auction could be Harry Brook. Barring a hundred, the young batting sensation from Yorkshire had a poor time at Sunrisers Hyderabad. He seemed to be premeditate too much while playing for SRH. But with a new franchise, he might do better. In the last auction, Brook was perhaps overpriced, and RR might end up getting him at a cheaper price.
With Jason Holder released, RR would also be on the lookout for an all-arounder. But with a purse of 14.5 cr, they have to also think about their budget. Perhaps they would eye Arshin Kulkarni. Expect at least a few bids for the all-rounder from Maharashtra. David Willey, who had a good time with the ball in the World Cup, also might get a few takers.
Delhi Capitals
Retained players: Rishabh Pant (c), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar
Released players: Rilee Rossouw, Chetan Sakariya, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Phil Salt, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Priyam Garg
Purse: 28.95
DC have made wholesale changes to the squad. Enterprising batters like Rilee Roosouw, Rovman Powell and Phil Salt have been shown the exit door. Obviously, DC would go hard at the auction to fill in their slots. The one big name who has been retained is Prithvi Shaw. More than auction buys, the DC management perhaps need to seriously ponder over the tracks prepared for their home matches.
Some of the pitches in Delhi were on the slower side in the 2023 IPL, and that didn’t help a batting unit filled with shot-makers. Just to exemplify the point further, Salt did make an impact with a 45-ball 87 against Royal Challengers Bangalore when the curator dished out a flat surface. And they were able to chase down a target of 182 with more than three overs to spare. In the auction, DC could zoom in on Mitchell. Travis Head at the top of the order would also find enough takers.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Retained players: Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine, Jason Roy. Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell,Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
Released players: Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, David Wiese, Aarya Desai, N Jagadeesan, Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Johnson Charles
Purse available: INR 32.7 crore
KKR have released a bunch of pace bowlers. So, they might also think of bagging the services of Starc. Or perhaps buy back one of the released players in Lockie Ferguson. Harshal Patel, released by Royal Challengers Bangalore, is an option. Pat Cummins, who has already played for KKR in the past, could also make his presence felt.
Dilshan Madushanka, the left-arm pace bowler, who impressed in the 50-over World Cup, could be an interesting pick. KS Bharat, the wicket-keeper-batter, and Kartik Tyagi, the pace bowler, might also come into the equation.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Retained players: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande
Released players: Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein, Karthik Tyagi, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas. Players traded out: Mayank Dagar. Players traded in: Shahbaz Ahmed
Purse available: INR 34 crore
SRH, the laggards of IPL 2023, would probably want to add depth to their top order. So, they might be interested in availing the services of the man of the moment, Head. Salt also would be in the fray. Wanindu Hasaranga, the leg-spinning all-rounder, has been released by RCB. There is a good chance that SRH would bid for them. With a purse of 34 crore, they are also set to bid for a fast bowler or two from the above-mentioned names.
We will have a look at the rest of the teams in Part 2