As a start of the article series, I shared with you some overview of the IPL, this year's MEGA auction; IPL Mega Auction: Team Review 01: Gujarat Titans. Out of final 577 players, and retained players 10 teams were created at the auction.
I am presenting how each team did in this year's auction and their team combination. So, after the Gujarat Titans & Mumbai Indians, let me discuss two more teams.
Punjab Kings
Well, I gotta say this team hasn't done so well in the past, nor in the auction as well. Out of the previous 17 seasons, they could reach playoffs just 02 times (one-time runners-up), despite having some serious talents. I guess with that, with the new coach Ricky Ponting, they came up with a different plan this time. They retained just 02 players hoping to build a whole new team.
| Squad | 25 Total, 07 overseas |
|---|---|
| Retained Players (INR) | Shashank Singh (5.5 Cr), Prabhsimran Singh (4 Cr) |
| Players bought(INR) | Shreyas Iyer (26.75 Cr), Nehal Wadhera (4.20 Cr), Vishnu Vinod (95L), Marcus Stoinis (11 Cr), Glenn Maxwell (4.20 Cr), Yuzvendra Chahal (18 Cr), Harpreet Brar (1.50 Cr), Arshdeep Singh (18 Cr), Vijaykumar Vyshak (1.80 Cr), Yash Thakur (1.60 Cr), Harnoor Singh (30L), Musheer Khan (30L), Pyla Avinash (30L), Josh Inglis (2.60 Cr), Suryansh Shedge (30L), Marco Jansen (7 Cr), Aaron Hardie (1.25 Cr), Azmatullah Omarzai (2.40 Cr), Priyansh Arya (3.80 Cr), Praveen Dubey (30L), Kuldeep Sen (80L), Xavier Bartlett (80L), Lockie Ferguson (2 Cr) |
| Probable XI | Prabhsimran Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Shreyas Iyer(c), Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis(wk), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal |
Well, I guess they did a damn good job this time. Coming up with the biggest purse, at the beginning of the auction they spent INR 26.75 crore to buy Shreyas Iyer, which is the second most expensive buy in IPL history. He will be the new captain, who lifted the trophy in the last year. And as you see, most of the players are very experienced IPL players, which gives them superiority.
- They spent heavily to buy 03 marquee players; Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Arshdeep Singh; proven Indian talents who create a strong Indian core.
- One of the best all-rounders ser - Azmatullah Omarzai, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Aaron Hardie and Glenn Maxwell
Anyway, the team has to rely much on overseas players, and the unavailability of a solid opening pair can be a small problem for them. Most probably Stonis will have the responsibility. Overall a pretty good side.
My Rating - 9/10
Delhi Capitals
This team is also the same as Panjab despite playing all the seasons without any significant outcome. Only in 2020, they could become the Runners-up. After letting Pant go, they took a debating decision. Anyway, they did an amazing and tricky job at the auction. Especially by involving in the prices to go high for other players, they bought some series and proven talents for rather convenient prices.
| Squad | 23 Total, 07 overseas |
|---|---|
| Retained Players (INR) | Axar Patel (16.50 Cr), Kuldeep Yadav (13.25 Cr), Tristan Stubbs (10 Cr), Abishek Porel (4 Cr) |
| Players bought(INR) | Mitchell Starc (11.75 Cr), KL Rahul (14 Cr), Harry Brook (6.25 Cr), Jake Fraser-McGurk (9 Cr, RTM), T Natarajan (10.75 Cr), Karun Nair (50 Lakh), Sameer Rizvi (95 Lakh), Ashutosh Sharma (3.80 Cr), Mohit Sharma (2.20 Cr), Faf du Plessis (2 Cr), Mukesh Kumar (8 Cr, RTM), Darshan Nalkande (30 Lakh), Vipraj Nigam (50 Lakh), Dushmantha Chameera (75 Lakh), Donovan Ferreira (75 Lakh), Ajay Mandal (30 Lakh), Manvanth Kumar (30 Lakh), Tripurana Vijay (30 Lakh), Madhav Tiwari (40 Lakh) |
| Probable XI | Jake Fraser-McGurk, KL Rahul(C & Wk), Abishek Porel, Harry Brook, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar |
It was predicted that they could target an Indian captain material, after letting Pant go. So, KL Rahul was grabbed for that role. And as you see, the whole squad is pretty strong, and there are overall good backup options for many positions.
- Ace overseas set - Jake Fraser McGurk, Mitchell Starc, Tristan Stubbs, Faf du Plessis, Harry Brook, Dushmantha Chameera, Donnavan Ferraira
- Super balling attack - Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel
My Rating - 9/10
Until the next time!
Best Regards!