On 19th December 2019, 332 players went under the hammer as the 8 teams scrambled to tweak their playing combinations at the IPL 2020 auction. 69 players were sold during the auction which included 29 overseas players. This was a mini-auction before the big reboot following IPL 2020 when teams will be disbanded and fresh players will be picked by the franchises.
Australian players attracted the most number of bids at 12, while
England was a close second at 7 players being sold. Pat Cummins from Australia
was sold to KKR for a record Rs. 15.50 crore, the most expensive foreign player
ever bought. Piyush Chawla became the most expensive Indian player who was
bought at a huge price of Rs. 6.75 crores by CSK. Glen Maxwell and Dale Steyn
were bought back by their respective teams Kings XI Punjab and RCB.
Delhi Capitals was involved in intense bidding with Royal Challengers Bangalore to acquire Pat Cummins, eventually; Kolkata Knight Riders ambushed both the franchises and bought Cummins. It will be interesting to see his performance this season. He was last featured in the 2017 edition for the Delhi franchise.
Glen Maxwell was the second most expensive buy for Rs. 10.75 crore by Kings XI Punjab. Earlier last year Glen Maxwell had taken a short break due to mental health issues. KXIP needed an overseas allrounder, it will be interesting to see what Maxwell brings to the team after his short break.
Let’s see how all the teams fared at the end of the IPL auction 2020.
Starting with Chennai Super Kings.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (CSK)
After last season’s routine run to the final everything looks hunky-dory with this franchise. But there could be a storm brewing for the team as MS Dhoni moves slightly towards the retirement arch. One other problem with the squad is that it’s mostly old players except for Deepak Chahar, who is a viable player for retention next season. With Rs. 14.6 crore in its kitty and 5 slots empty, which includes 2 slots for overseas player bought only 4 players.
Piyush Chawla was their most expensive buy at Rs. 6.75 crores, he was also the costliest Indian player bought at the auction. Australian pacer Josh Hazelwood was bought for his base price of Rs 2 crore. These purchases have strengthened Chennai’s bowling attack. Englishman Sam Curran was picked for Rs 5.5 crore and R Sai Kishore for Rs 20 lakh. Curran is a good all-rounder and can fit in well with the team for overseas games. Whereas Kishore stands uncapped and will make his debut in this season of IPL.
DELHI CAPITALS (DC)
Delhi Capitals had an impressive season last year which came to an end at the playoffs. Easily one of their finer seasons in recent times. With 11 slots empty, including 5 slots for overseas player and Rs 27. 85 crores in their kitty they had decisions to make. Delhi needed a reliable finisher for their death over woes. Shimron Hetmeyer the West Indies batsmen and a finisher was their most expensive buy at Rs 7.75 crore.
They also bought Australians Marcus Stoinis and Alex Carey. Marcus an all-rounder and Alex a wicketkeeper are good choices to add to their already strong team. Two England members were also purchased, Chris Woakes and Jason Roy for Rs 1.5 crore. 3 Indians were also bought namely Lalit Yadav, Tushar Deshpande, and Mohit Sharma. Delhi needed a little improvement in the seam bowling department, Woakes and Stoinis will hopefully complete that requirement.
KINGS XI PUNJAB (KXIP)
An amount of Rs 42.7 crore is reflective of both profound changes as well as an empty trophy cabinet. Last season KXIP finished 6th on the points table with an underwhelming performance. With R. Ashwin gone they needed a new captain and gaps in their bowling department needed to be filled.
They also needed a finisher after they released David Miller. Before the auction, they released seven of their players and the highest amount in their purses among the 8 franchises. With 9 slots to fill including 4 overseas players, they managed to fill each spot and bring their team to a 25-member squad. Glen Maxwell was their costliest buy at Rs 10.75 crores to strengthen their batting woes. Sheldon Cottrell, the West Indies pacer was bought for a whopping Rs 8.5 crores, his pace bowling will bring extra oomph to the team. James Neesham was another popular buy, a much-needed all-rounder for the team.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS (KKR)
The two-time champions had an underwhelming last outing unable to reach the playoffs. With 11 slots empty and Rs 35.65 crore in its kitty KKR bought 9 players. Pat Cummins was the most expensive buy at a record Rs 15.50 crore. The team needed a leader for the pace attack and Cummins is the perfect fit. The world cup winning captain of England, Eoin Morgan sold out for Rs 5.25 crore. Morgan will bring stability to the middle order batsmen. Australian all-rounder Chris Green was also picked up for Rs 20 lakhs, his allrounder abilities will be a good backup for Russel. Other players bought were Varun Chakaravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Nikhil Naik, Pravin Tambe, and M Siddharth. Three players are uncapped, so it’s a fairly young squad and it will be interesting to see what they can bring to the team.
MUMBAI INDIANS (MI)
The defending champions have a strengthened team and there is no such
glaring problem with the lineup. The only thing they needed to concentrate on
was a backup for their veteran player Lasith Malinga. With 7 slots to fill and
Rs 13.05 crores, they bought 6 players. Nathan Coulter-Nile was their most
expensive buy at Rs 8 crores, followed by Chris Lynn at his base price of Rs 2
crores. To strengthen their bowling attack, they bought in Mohsin Khan, Prince
Balwant Rai Singh, and Digvijay Deshmukh. Their batting is already strong being
led by captain Rohit Sharma. Newest additions are Saurabh Tiwary and Lynn. Lynn
being a big hitter and Coulter-Nile a bowling allrounder makes the team
stronger and will make for a good defense against the opposition.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS (RR)
Rajasthan Royals finished seventh last season, not a very good position to finish off a season. With Rs 28.9 crores in its kitty and 11 slots empty the franchise had some decisions to make. The main issue with their team is finishing, with both ball and bat. They need a good finisher as well as a good death bowler. For their batting woes, they picked up Robin Uthappa for Rs 3 crores, their most expensive purchase. David Miller was purchased at his base price of Rs 75 lakh.
Considering his talent, he was a budget buy for the team. Jaydeep Undakat was bought for Rs 3 crores for their bowling problems. Andrew Tye, Tom Curran and Oshane Thomas were the overseas players bought. RR invested in young talent and picked up Yashasvi Jaiswal, 17 yr old batting sensation. Allrounder Anirudha Joshi and wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat were picked up for Rs 80 lakh which was their base price.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE (RCB)
After another disappointing season RCB needed to take decisions to improve their team for a chance at winning the coveted IPL trophy. They had a purse of Rs 27.9 crores and 12 slots to fill which included 6 overseas slots as well.
What they needed were top class bowlers as last season they took the second-fewest wickets (14) in the tournament. Australia’s Kane Richardson and Sri Lanka’s Isuru Adana were bought for Rs 4 crores and Rs 50 lakhs respectively for their bowling woes. Dale Steyn was a surprise buy for them at the end of the auction at Rs 2 crores. Chris Morris at Rs 10 crores was their most expensive buy and their most expensive player in the IPL 2020 auction. Money was also invested in young talent when Pavan Deshpande and Shahbaz Ahamad were bought for their base prices. In form Australian Joseph Philippe who is a wicketkeeper-batsman was a surprise buy at Rs 20 lakhs.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD (SRH)
SRH has been a consistent performer since its debut in 2013. With Rs 17 crores in their kitty and 7 slots to fill this included 2 overseas members. Their star player Shakib Al Hasan who is an allrounder will be missed as he is serving a ban for not reporting a fixing approach. They needed to concentrate on a finisher as their death over scoring has remained a problem since the last four seasons. They acquired the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Fabien Allen who are good all-rounders. Money was also invested in young talent when Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, and Sanjay Yadav were bought. SRH happens to be the strongest team on paper; it will be interesting to see how they perform at the 13th season of the IPL.
