IPL RETENTIONS ANNOUNCED!!

 IPL fun is back again, all the teams have announced their retention and it confirms that the mega auction will be a blockbuster. Many big names will be featured in the mega auction, almost 3-4 teams are in search of a captain. Will start by analysing and looking carefully at each team's auction strategy and retained players.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK):

1) Ruturaj Gaikwad: 18 Cr

2) Matheesha Pathirana*: 13 Cr

3) Shivam Dube: 12 Cr

4) Ravindra Jadeja: 18 Cr

5) Ms Dhoni: 4 Cr (U)

RTM Remaining: 1

Total Money Spent: 65 Cr

Total Cap Available: 55 Cr

Auction Strategy: CSK would like to target Indian pacers and would try to use RTM on either of the 3 i.e Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway and Maheesh Theekshana. They can also go for Daryl Mitchell. They main focus in the auction will be quality Indian bowlers and Foreign Batters and all rounders. They would probably try to get Faf back and according to the reports Rishabh Pant is their in the probable list. They also got a decent amount of money left to get some quality players.

Delhi Capitals (DC):

1) Axar Patel: 16.5 Cr

2) Kuldeep Yadav: 13.25 Cr

3) Tristan Stubbs*: 10 Cr

4) Abhishek Porel: 4 Cr (U)

RTM Remaining: 2

Total Money Spent: 43.75 Cr

Total Cap Available: 73 Cr

I know the tally isn't matching it is because the total money spent on retention is calculated as 18 Cr, 14 Cr, 11 Cr, 4 Cr, so it is 47 Cr.

Auction Strategy: Delhi will firstly look to find a good captain, They can go for KL Rahul or Aiden Markram. They will target some pacers, they don't need the spinners, they have 2 best Indian Players. They will be more focused to build their bowling line-up more than their batting. The 2 RTM'S can be used for Jake Fraser, Mukesh Kumar or Rasikh Dar. With 73 Cr in the purse DC will enter auction and destroy other team's auction strategy.

Gujrat Titans (GT): 

1) Rashid Khan*: 18 Cr

2) Shubman Gill: 16.50 Cr

3) Sai Sudharsan: 8.50 Cr

4) Rahul Tewatia: 4 Cr (U)

5) Shahrukh Khan: 4 Cr (U)

RTM Remaining: 1

Total Money Spent: 51 Cr

Total Cap Available: 69 Cr

Auction Strategy: Not a good decision to leave Shami, he is the main reason behind becoming an champion team so early. We have seen before GT mainly focuses on their bowling line-up, they had a strong bowling line-up in every season they played. You have retained 2 top order batters and 2 finishers, also Rashid leading the bowling department, the main focus will be some foreign batters and bowlers. They have to find a decent keeper too, They can use RTM on Matthew Wade if they don't find any. Other RTM options can be, Shami, Williamson or Omarzai. 69 Cr in pocket is good amount to enter the auction. I feel Gujrat might also target Gurbaz or Ibrahim Zadran in the auction as they love Afghan talent.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): 

1) Rinku Singh: 13 Cr

2) Varun Chakaravarthy: 12 Cr

3) Sunil Narine*: 12 Cr

4) Andre Russell: 12 Cr

5) Harshit Rana: 4 Cr (U)

6) Ramandeep Singh: 4 Cr (U)

RTM Remaining: 0

Total Money Spent: 57 Cr

Total Cap Available: 69 Cr

Auction Strategy: They have let go the title winner captain Iyyer, no official reason yet but if the reports are to be believed, he was asking for a whooping amount of 30 Cr. Let's wait for the official confirmation. They need to find a good captain in the auction, they might go for Kl Rahul or Rishabh Pant. David Warner is also a great option for them. They have retained all 6 players hence no RTM option left for them. They do need some pacer in their side along with a strong batting order.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG): 

1) Nicholas Pooran*: 21 Cr

2) Ravi Bishnoi: 11 Cr

3) Mayank Yadav: 11 Cr

4) Mohsin Khan: 4 Cr (U)

5) Ayush Badoni: 4 Cr (U)

RTM Remaining: 1

Total Money Spent: 51 Cr

Total Cap Available: 69 Cr

Auction Strategy: Same as KKR, LSG left their Captain aside and moved on from him. LSG Owner SANJEEV GOENKA said, "We wanted to retain players with the mindset to win, who would put the team winning above their personal aspirations". That was some controversial statement, let's not go their for this moment now. They have some great pace attack with Mayank and Mohsin in the team, they would like to get some explosive top order batters. They can use their RTM on De Cock, Kyle Mayers, Stoinis or even Krunal Pandya if needed. Pooran will be captaining the LSG team in the upcoming season. Most targeted batters in the auction will be Indian's, however they might look to get foreign bowlers.

Mumbai Indians (MI): 

1) Jasprit Bumrah: 18 Cr

2) Suryakumar Yadav: 16.35 Cr

3) Hardik Pandya: 16.35 Cr

4) Rohit Sharma: 16.30 Cr

5) Tilak Verma: 8 Cr

RTM Remaining: 1

Total Money Spent: 75 Cr

Total Cap Available: 45 Cr

Auction Strategy: MI as usual has retained their core Indian strength, they had to let go Kishan though. They would like to get back Boult in their team for sure, they can also go for Hazlewood. So basically 1 overseas bowler to accompany Bumrah. In batting they might target Buttler or De Cock, they will look to have a opening keeper in their team. A strong finisher or rather an overseas finisher to fit the shoes of Pollard, might go for Indian players too this time. Expecting them to buy decent spinners this time, might target Washi. RTM can be used on only Uncapped Indian player, they can be, Akash Madhwal, Anshul Kamboj, Vishnu Vinod or Naman Dhir. 45 Cr is looking little less as compared to other teams but they can still create a blast in the auction.

Punjab Kings (PBKS): 

1) Shashank Singh: 5.5 Cr (U)

2) Prabhsimran Singh: 4 Cr (U)

RTM Remaining: 4 

Total Money Spent: 9.5 Cr

Total Cap Available: 110.50 Cr

Auction Strategy: I am shocked they haven't retained Arshdeep Singh, he is one of the best T20 bowler in the world currently. With Ricky Pointing joining the team, they are rebuilding the team. They will bid for some big players with 110.50 Cr in the purse, they will search for a captain first, maybe Pant or Iyyer. They can use RTM on, Arshdeep Singh, Rabada, Curran, Bairstow or Raza. No, I didn't forget about Ashutosh Sharma but he can't be retained as only 2 Uncapped Indians are allowed to be retained by a team. I don't think PBKS will use all of their RTM cards, but they will get Arshdeep at any cost. They might even go for Shami once again and what if Rahul too, can't predict this so early but yeah, it is possible. 

Rajasthan Royals (RR): 

1) Sanju Samson: 18 Cr

2) Yashaswi Jaiswal: 18 Cr

3) Riyan Parag: 14 Cr

4) Dhruv Jurel: 14 Cr

5) Shimron Hetmyer*: 11 Cr

6) Sandeep Sharma: 4 Cr (U)

RTM Remaining: 0

Total Money Spent: 79 Cr

Total Cap Available: 41 Cr

Auction Strategy: They had a very balanced team and they tried to maintain the core, but they had to part ways from Buttler, Boult, Ashwin and Yuzi. Jurel for 14 Cr is little bit overpriced, not a bad player I love his batting but 8 or 10 would have been fine I guess. They can't use RTM but they will look to rebuy atleast any one of Buttler or Boult. They will be more focused on their spin department and will also buy some foreign pacers. They are going to the auction with the lowest purse hence they should steal some great players. 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB): 

1) Virat Kohli: 21 Cr

2) Rajat Patidar: 11 Cr

3) Yash Dayal: 5 Cr (U)

RTM Remaining: 3

Total Money Spent: 37 Cr

Total Cap Available: 83 Cr

Auction Strategy: They have let go Siraj, this was unexpected. RCB has always backed Siraj but I think with Dayal's impressive bowling performance, they have finally moved on from Siraj. They might get him through RTM. RCB will use the same strategy which they are using from past almost 10 years, they will get some solid Foreign batters and no focus on bowling as always. Can buy Yuzi again. They can use RTM on Akashdeep, Siraj, Will Jacks, Swapnil Singh (he will shine in this season). They also need to search for a decent keeper, I remember KS Bharat playing some great knock for RCB, he is not a bad choice for them. Anuj Rawat is also a good keeping option. 83 Cr is a big amount and they can build a decent team with this amount.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): 

1) Pat Cummins*: 18 Cr

2) Abhishek Sharma:14 Cr

3) Nitish Kumar Reddy: 6 Cr

4) Heinrich Klaasen*: 23 Cr

5) Travis Head*: 14 Cr

RTM Remaining: 1

Total Money Spent: 75 Cr

Total Cap Available: 45 Cr

Auction Strategy: They adopted aggressive brand of cricket last year and they were successful in it. They might look to keep that approach in mind while entering the auction. They need some Indian bowlers in the team to strengthen their squad. They can use RTM on only Uncapped Indian so they might go for Markande or Abdul Samad any one of them. I would not be shocked to see SRH going after Pant, they will get every possible player without thinking about big players missing the game. Last year Glen Philips didn't even played a single game. It will be fun to watch whom are SRH targeting in the auction.

Overall it will be a great auction to look forward with many big names participating in the auction. Most of the teams are in search of Pacers more than that of batters. I have made some list of potential Indian and Foreign players who are perfect fit for some teams.

Indian Batters: Nitish Rana (Cap Option), Shreyas Iyyer, Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaikh Rasheed, Sameer Rizvi, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Swastik Chhikara, Deepak Hooda, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Bhatia, Atharva Taide, Shubham Dube, Suyash Prabhudesai, Saurav Chauhan, Mahipal Lomror, Abdul Samad, Rahul Tripathi, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Devdutt Paddikal, N Jose, Yash Dubey, Bhupen Lalwani, Saurabh Tiwari, Manish Pandey, Sachin Baby, Ankit Bawne, Yash Rathod, Karun Nair, Dhruv Shorey, Virat Singh, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre, Hardik Tamore, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Priyam Garg.

Indian Wicketkeepers: Avinash Rao Aravelly, Rishabh Pant, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Wriddhiman Saha, BR Sharath, K.S Bharat, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Harvik Desai, Vishnu Vinod, Jitesh Sharma, Kunal Rathore, Anuj Rawat, Upendra Singh Yadav, Baba Indrajith, Mohammad Azharuddin, Narayan Jagdeesan, Dheeraj Goud, Sheldon Jackson, Akshay Wadkar, Aryan Juyal.

Indian Allrounders: Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal, Shardul Thakur, Lalit Yadav, Sumit Kumar, Abhinav Manohar, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Anukul Roy, Venkatesh Iyyer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Arshad Khan, Prerak Mankad, Yudhvir Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Anshul Kamboj, Naman Dhir, Shivalik Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Tanay Thyagrajann, Rishi Dhawan, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Tanush Kotian, Abid Mushtaq, Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Mayank Dagar, Manoj Bhandage, Sanvir Singh, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Aditya Sarwate, Jalaj Saxena, Chirag Jani, Aman Khan.

Indian Spinners: Prashant Solanki, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Jayant Yadav, Sai Kishore, Manav Suthar, Suyash Sharma, M Siddharth, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Shreyas Gopal, Kumar Kartikeya, Rahul Chahar, Prince Kumar, Himanshu Sharma, Mayank Markande, Jhathavedh Subramanyan, Jagdish Suchit, S Ajith Ram, Hrithik Shokeen, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Akshay Wakhare, Yuzi Chahal.

Indian Pacers: Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Rasikh Dar, Sandeep Warrier, Aditya Thackeray, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Shami, Kartik Tyagi, Sushant Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Sakib Hussain, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Shivam Mavi, Yash Thakur, Akash Madhwal, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harshal Patel, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Avesh Khan, Siraj, Akashdeep, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Rajan Kumar, Akash Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natrajan, Umran Malik, Prasidh Krishna, Kulwant Khejroliya, KM Asif, Rajesh Mohanty, Chintan Gaja, Arzan Nagwaswalla, Rajneesh Gurbani, Mohit Avasthi, Ankit Rajpoot, Ishan Porel, Raj Limbani, Lukman Meriwala.

 (Note: Players in red are exciting players and teams may go after them in the Mega Auction.)

Overseas Batter: Devon Conway, David Warner, Harry Brook, David Miller, Kane Williamson, Sherfane Rutherford, Ashton Turner, Kyle Mayers, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Rilee Rossow, Rovman Powell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Will Jacks, Faf Du-Plesis Joe Root, Steve Smith, Marnus Labushagne, Rachin Ravindra, Pathum Nissanka, Ibrahim Zadran, N Zadran.

Overseas Keeper: Shai Hope, Mathew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Phil Salt, Quinton Decock, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Donovan Ferreira, Glenn Philips, Liton Das, Alex Carey.

Overseas Allrounder: Mitchell Santner, Moen Ali, Darly Mitchell, Mitchell Marsh, Gulbadin Naib, Shakib Al Hasan, Omarzai, Andre Russel, Sunil Narine, Marcus Stoinis, David Willey, Sam Curran, Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Romario Shepard, Chris Woakes, Sikander Raza, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Marco Jansen, Duan Jansen.

Overseas Spinners: Maheesh Theekshana, Wellalage, Noor Ahmed, Allah Ghazanfar, Keshav Maharaj, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Vijaykant Viyaskant, Mehidy Hasan Miraj, Adil Rashid, Adam Zampa, Rishad Hussain.

Overseas Pacer: Hazlewood, Richard Gleeson, Mustafizur Rahman, Anrich Nortje, Jhye Richardson, Lizaad Williams, Spencer Johnson, Joshou Little, Chameera, Mitchell Starc, Shamar Joseph, Matt Henry, Naveen Ul Haq, Kwena Mphaka, Luke Wood, Dilshan Madhushanka, Nuwan Tushara, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Trent Boult, Nandre Burger, Alzari Joseph, Ferguson, Tom Curran, Reece Topley, Fazal Haq Farooqi.

Many of the players might be missing in the list, please let me know if I have missed any. Also Let me know which is your favourite team in the IPL and are you happy with the retentions of your favourite teams? If not what change you want to make?

THANK YOU, 

ADVAIT KADAM

(Sports Management Student)