Mumbai Indians, a team that has been in transition for the past two years and made some bewildering purchases at last season’s mega auction, have opted to invest in Stokes’ heir apparent. cameron green.
Sunrisers Hyderabad added Harry Brooks to their roster but what they needed more was an option that stabilizes their bowling line-up.
Here’s a look at the top 10 team picks
Chennai Super Kings
Ben Stokes (16.25 crore), Ajinkya Rahane (Rs 50 lakh)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a simple mantra: rely on proven seniors who have been there and done it. Building teams is something he’s always left out of other franchises.
While the IPL is expected to be back in the home and away format, CSK will play seven home games at the Chepauk, which won’t exactly be batting heaven.
For Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo was a player of immense value and he wanted this replacement. CSK looked to the all-rounders, who could hit big between 16-20 overs and exploit Chennai’s sticky surface with variation. They initially looked to Jason Holder but became whole pigs for the English all-rounder.
Look at the CSK batting roster: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu/Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja. This is a dream T20 hitting lineup on any surface with versatile players.
Stokes can both open batting or bowling on required days and when the big man bids farewell to his favorite canary yellow jersey, Stokes could be the man leading the pack.
Bombay Indians
Cameron Green (Rs 17.50 crore), Jhye Richardson (Rs 1.50 crore)
Mumbai Indians had a disappointing mega auction last time out. They had to go for an impact player and considering they were looking at the next five years, 23-year-old Cameron Green was the ideal player in their scheme of things.
Green and fellow Aussie Tim David (who also played for Singapore) with their monstrous power shots will be dangerous at Wankhede Stadium. Add Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis and NT Thilak Naidu into the mix, the MI stick will give the opposition headaches.
However, the bowling offense is still not up to snuff as Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer will come out of serious injuries. Green and David’s bowling on these lanes isn’t the strongest.
But the purchase of Jhye Richardson, a good representative of T20, was a good call from MI as he will be Jofra’s foreign support bowler, if not the main one.
“I pinch myself that this all happened. It’s such a weird feeling watching an auction for yourself. I can’t believe how nervous I was and was shaking like anything when the final appeal has been confirmed,” Green told ESPN. Cricinfo.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of the IPL and it’s going to be so cool to be a part of it. Mumbai Indians are one of the powerhouses in the competition so I feel very humbled to join them. I can’t wait to get there next year.
Kings of Punjab
Sam Curran (18.5 crore), Sikander Raza (50 lakh)
Most of the Punjab Kings records have been off the pitch and breaking the bank to make Curran the most expensive player in IPL auction history is one of them.
Curran was always going to opt for a $2 million bid after his exploits at the T20 World Cup, where he stood out throughout the event.
But the bid is often based on bidding dynamics, as one of the owners Ness Wadia said after winning the bidding war.
Going forward, Curran will play most of his matches in Mohali, where the flat deck and evening dew can spoil the party. His bowling was perfectly suited to the surfaces of Chennai and Delhi where deliveries will hold and some will slip.
He was at Mohali a few seasons ago and the overall results weren’t really encouraging. But this was Curran fresh out of his teens and this man is an experienced hand. Hopefully he can turn the tables for the Punjab Kings but that doesn’t seem likely at the moment.
Lucknow Super Giants
Nicholas Pooran (Rs 16 crore), Daniel Sams (75 lakh)
They reached the play-offs in their first IPL appearance, but the 2023 season will be a little trickier for them. The franchise is still unsure if it will get left-arm speedster Mohsin Khan, who has had elbow surgery and rehabilitation will be difficult.
However, not aiming for any of the all-rounders and getting Nicholas Pooran as a finisher is as disconcerting as it gets.
As Scott Styris, one of Jio Cinema’s analysts, said, “For that kind of price, it needs to deliver more consistent performance.”
Still with Quinton de Kock in the lineup, it will be interesting to see who puts on the big gloves. Of the franchises with a reasonable purse, LSG’s Pooran appears to be the worst buy.
In 2021 he scored 85 runs in 11 innings and in 2022 it was better with 306 runs on 13 shots to 144 shots but only two fifty plus for Sunisers Hyderabad.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Harry Brook (Rs 13.25 crore), Mayank Agarwal (8.25 crore), Heinrich Klaasen (5.25 crore)
Sunrisers Hyderabad came with 42 crore more in their prize pool and they were the ultimate paddle pushers with over two million dollars in purchases from England’s Harry Brook and India fly-half Mayank Agarwal.
Agarwal is currently out of Indian competition in all formats but with the exception of last year he has been a reliable IPL player and with local capped players available at a premium the bidding dynamics would have led to its heavy bidding. Mayank also gives SRH a captain option with Kane Williamson gone this year.
But having Brook, who many refer to as ‘Virat Kohli of England’, will need to be installed in the middle order where they should get rid of New Zealand sensation T20 Glenn Phillips or South African Aiden Markram. Now Markram is throwing a handy off-spin on slow trails. The price paid to Brooks, they do not have the option of benching him.
Gujarat Titans
Shivam Mavi (Rs 6 crore), KS Bharat (Rs 1.2 crore), Kane Williamson (Rs 2 crore)
Defending champions Gujarat Titans with a sharp coach in Ashish Nehra made some smart choices in the auction. Although eyes might appear on Mavi’s Rs 6 crore deal, there aren’t many effective Indian T20 bowlers on this list and Mavi had to go for a bit of a prize.
The two stolen buys are goalkeeper Kona Bharat, who got lost in Delhi Capitals last season as an understudy for Rishabh Pant and here there is every chance he could open alongside Shubman Gill at the place of Wriddhiman Saha, 38 years old.
Kane Williamson may not be an automatic playing choice for the XI, but on tricky surfaces he could be brought in as a stabilizing influence.
Capitals of Delhi
Mukesh Kumar (Rs 5.50 crore), Phil Salt (Rs 2 crore), Ishant Sharma (Rs 50 lakh)
Delhi Capitals is another franchise that has shown a lot of common sense in its choices. Mukesh Kumar was a net bowler with the franchise last season and now plays regularly for India A. With his ability to kick the ball, he can be a good Powerplay option in the final stage of the tournament.
But the bargain was certainly England’s Phil Salt, who blasted Pakistani bowlers in the away T20 series just weeks before the T20 Word Cup in Australia. At Rs 2 crore, it couldn’t have been better. Ishant Sharma at base price isn’t a bad deal either, as his experience can sometimes come in handy.
Kolkata Knight Riders
N Jagadeesan (Rs 90 lakh), Vaibhav Arora (Rs 60 lakh)
KKR was out of purse, but N Jagadeesan, who did well in TNPL and recently held the world record for highest A-list score (277), was taken for less than a crore. In fact, last year KKR struggled with goalkeepers and even had Baba Indrajith in the role. This time, Jagadeesan might just be a more stable part of their strategy.
Bangalore Royal Challengers
Will Jacks (Rs 3.2 crore). Reece Topley (1.90 crore)
Royal Challengers Bangalore had two subdued but decent England picks, striker Will Jacks and lanky left-arm dressmaker Reece Topley (England), who recently troubled India in an ODI at Lord’s. They showed interest in a few players but, due to a lack of scholarships, they couldn’t go the distance.
Rajasthani Royals
Jason Holder (Rs 5.75 crore)
Since the departure of Ben Stokes, the Rajasthan Royals have had to opt for versatile bowling and with just 13 crore in their prize pool, Ben Stokes and Cameron Green were out of reach. They settled for Jason Holder, who could be a handy option on Sawai Man Singh’s field where hitters get a lot of value for their shots.
His presence at the back will give coach Kumar Sangakkara and captain Sanju Samson plenty of hope as well as the chance to hit hard. Similarly, its well-disguised slower ones will also be effective on Indian tracks.
