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, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challenges Bengaluru, & Kolkata Knight Riders, let me discuss two more teams.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Well, CSK is the join-best team in IPL along with MI. Out of 15 seasons they contested, they could reach playoffs 12 times, and become champions 5 out of them. Dhoni was the captain of this team until the last season, where they returned it to Gaikwad. After being fifth in the last season, they built a good team once again.
| Squad | 25 Total, 07 overseas |
|---|---|
| Retained Players (INR) | Ruturaj Gaikwad (18 Cr), Ravindra Jadeja (18 Cr), Matheesha Pathirana (13 Cr), Shivam Dube (12 Cr), MS Dhoni (4 Cr) |
| Players bought(INR) | Noor Ahmad (10 Cr), Ravichandran Ashwin (9.75 Cr), Devon Conway (6.25 Cr), Khaleel Ahmed (4.80 Cr), Rachin Ravindra (4 Cr), Rahul Tripathi (3.40 Cr),Anshul Kamboj (3.40 Cr), Vijay Shankar (1.20 Cr), Sam Curran (2.40 Cr), Gurjapneet Singh (2.20 Cr), Nathan Ellis (2 Cr), Deepak Hooda (1.70 Cr), Jamie Overton (1.50 Cr), Vansh Bedi (55L), Mukesh Choudhary (30L), Shreyas Gopal (30L), Ramakrishna Ghosh (30L), Kamlesh Nagarkoti (30L), Andre Siddharth (30L), Shaik Rasheed (30L) |
| Probable XI | Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni(wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Matheesha Pathirana, Noor Ahmad |
Well, CSK retained a strong core, so didn't go much behind big names. Anyway, they tried to reunite their previous combinations, getting Ashwin, Sam, Rachin, Conway, etc. Theu used their RTM option well to gain Rachin as well.
- CSK have a strong core group
- Great spin-bowling unit (Noor Ahmad, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja)
Anyway Matheesha Pathirana will have to do a lot, with Sam Curran, and other Indian pacers. It seems there are more less-experienced fast balling option in the unit. And the middle order, and finishers seems inconsistent.
My Rating - 7.5/10
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
After having forgettable seasons in 2021, 2022 & 2023, last year they completely changed the team setup with some destruction especially with Head, Klaseen, Abhishek, etc, and giving the leadership to Cummins. They did pretty good, especially bashing the ballers, and being the runners-up. So, they spent big bucks to retain a very strong core especially to continue the firepower.
| Squad | 20 Total, 07 overseas |
|---|---|
| Retained Players (INR) | Heinrich Klaasen (23 Cr), Pat Cummins (18 Cr), Travis Head (14 Cr), Abhishek Sharma (14 Cr), Nitish Reddy (6 Cr) |
| Players bought(INR) | Ishan Kishan (11.25 Cr), Mohammed Shami (10 Cr), Harshal Patel (8 Cr), Abhinav Manohar (3.2 Cr), Rahul Chahar (3.2 Cr), Adam Zampa (2.4 Cr), Simarjeet Singh (1.5 Cr), Eshan Malinga (1.2 Cr), Jaydev Unadkat (1 Cr), Brydon Carse (1 Cr), Kamindu Mendis (75L), Zeeshan Ansari (40L), Atharva Taide (30L), Sachin Baby (30L), Aniket Verma (30L) |
| Probable XI | Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen(wk), Sachin Baby, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar |
Their intention was the same, after adding Ishan Kishan to the squad. The batting unit is steadily packed, with proven and new talents. Rahul Chahar is there as a spinner, and with the swapping option Adam Zampa also can make the team.
- Explosive top-order - Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan
- Superb middle-order and great finishers - Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen and Abhinav Manohar
Letting go of Natarajan, and Bhuvi who are proven IPL talents is a bit surprising. But they replaced them with Shami, and Harshal Patel. If they could deliver this team is simply amazing. With the small squad, and inexperienced overseas players there may be problems in backup options though.
My Rating - 8/10
Until the next time!
Best Regards!