New Delhi, Dec 23 (PTI): Chennai Super Kings management, known for its practicality and prudence, pulled off a coup by buying England Test captain and world’s premier all-rounder Ben Stokes in what looks like a leadership succession plan as and when Mahendra Singh Dhoni decides to hang his boots.
Mumbai Indians, a team that has been in transition in the last two years and had some baffling buys at the mega auction last season, opted to invest in Stokes’ skill-set heir apparent Cameron Green.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have added Harry Brooks in their roster but what they needed more was an option that stabilises their bowling line-up.
PTI takes a look at top picks of all 10 teams
Chennai Super Kings
Ben Stokes (16.25 crore), Ajinkya Rahane (Rs 50 lakh)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a simple mantra — rely on tried and tested seniors, who have been there and done that. Building teams is something he has always left on other franchises.
With IPL set to be back in home and away format, CSK will play seven home games at the Chepauk, which won’t exactly be a batter’s paradise.
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Mumbai Indians
Cameron Green (Rs 17.50 crore), Jhye Richardson (Rs 1.50 crore)
Mumbai Indians had a disappointing mega auction last time. They had to go for one impact player and since they were looking at the next five years, Cameron Green at the age of 23 was ideal player in their scheme of things.
Both Green and fellow Aussie Tim David (who also played for Singapore) with their monstrous power hits will be dangerous at the Wankhede Stadium. Add Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis and NT Thilak Naidu in the mix, MI’s batting will give headache to opposition.
Punjab Kings
Sam Curran (18.5 crore), Sikander Raza (50 lakh)
Most of Punjab Kings’ records have been off the field and breaking bank to get Curran as the most expensive player in the history of IPL auctions is one of them.
Curran was always going to go for a bid of USD 2 million range after his exploits in the T20 World Cup, where he was a standout performer throughout the event.
Lucknow Super Giants
Nicholas Pooran (Rs 16 crore), Daniel Sams (75 lakh)
They reached the play-offs in their maiden IPL appearance but 2023 season will be a bit trickier for them. The franchise still doesn’t know whether they would get left-arm speedster Mohsin Khan, who has suffered an elbow surgery and the rehab will be a tough one.
However not going for any of the all-rounders and getting Nicholas Pooran as a finisher is as baffling as it gets.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Harry Brook (Rs 13.25 crore), Mayank Agarwal (8.25 crore), Heinrich Klaasen (5.25 crore)
Sunrisers Hyderabad came with 42 crore plus in their kitty and they were the ultimate paddle pushers with two million dollar plus buys in Englishman Harry Brook and Indian opener Mayank Agarwal.
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 clever choices at the auction. While eyes might pop out at Mavi’s Rs 6 crore deal, there aren’t many effective Indian T20 bowlers on that roster and Mavi had to go for a bit of price.
Delhi Capitals
Mukesh Kumar (Rs 5.50 crore), Phil Salt (Rs 2 crore), Ishant Sharma (Rs 50 lakh)
Delhi Capitals is another franchise which showed a lot of common sense in their picks. Mukesh Kumar was a net bowler with the franchise last season and is now playing regularly for India A. With his ability to pitch the ball up, he can be a good Powerplay option during the later stage of the tournament.
But the bargain buy certainly was Englishman Phil Salt, who had blasted the Pakistani bowlers during the T20 away series few weeks before the T20 Word Cup in Australia.
Kolkata Knight Riders
N Jagadeesan (Rs 90 lakh), Vaibhav Arora (Rs 60 lakh)
KKR didn’t have any purse left but N Jagadeesan, who has done well in TNPL and recently owned the world record for highest List A score (277) was taken for less than a crore. In fact, last year, KKR struggled with keepers and even had Baba Indrajith in that role. This time, Jagadeesan might just be a more stable component in their strategy.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Will Jacks (Rs 3.2 crore). Reece Topley (1.90 crore)
Royal Challengers Bangalore had two moderate but decent picks in England batter Will Jacks and lanky left-arm seamer Reece Topley (England), who had recently troubled India in an ODI at the Lord’s.
Rajasthan Royals
Jason Holder (Rs 5.75 crore)
Since Ben Stokes left, Rajasthan Royals had to go for a pace bowling all-rounder and with only 13 crore in its kitty, Ben Stokes and Cameron Green were out of reach. They settled for Jason Holder, who could be a handy option at the Sawai Man Singh ground where batters get a lot of value for their shots.
