IPL 2024 auction talking points: From SRH buying themselves a headache to DC picking 6 wicketkeepers as Pant’s backup | Cricket News

The fate of the Indian Premier League is usually decided at the auction table, where teams get all the opportunity to put together a squad that can look strong not just on paper but also on the field. As the mini player-auction ahead of IPL 2024 concluded in Dubai on Tuesday, it threw up interesting facets as usual. Here are the talking points from an action-packed day which saw Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) and Pat Cummins (Rs 20.50 crore) grab the headlines.
Having entered the auction with an already strong squad, CSK walked away stronger. It is easily, the franchise’s best day at the auction as they have given Thala MS Dhoni all the options to play around with. They are known to be very calculative and practical and that is what they did on Tuesday as they acquired Daryl Mitchell (Rs 14 cr) and Rachin Ravindra (Rs 1.8 Cr), two players who fit into their system with ease. They also welcomed back Shardul Thakur before going big for 20-year-old Sameer Rizvi, known as right-handed Suresh Raina. Even the inclusion of Mustafizur Rahman, makes for a perfect fit for the conditions at Chepauk, making their bowling unit formidable. Over to Dhoni to make full use of these resources.
Delhi-7
There is still ambiguity around Rishabh Pant’s availability. Even if he plays it is not clear whether he will be able to keep wickets. So what does Delhi Capitals do? Get in not just two options, but stock up the side with six more players, including Shai Hope and Tran Stubbs. They have good options in the bowling unit and the type of batsmen they have gone in search of suggests they are expecting the Kotla pitch to play the same way as it did during the World Cup. Everything points to Delhi knowing who three of their overseas starts will be, but they still need to get their Indian combination right to make this a winning unit.
No triple H and less pedigree
Having got rid of Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel, Royal Challengers Bangalore were in for a rebuilding in the bowling department. And despite acquiring Alzarri Joseph and Lockie Ferguson to aid Mohammed Siraj, they walk out of the auction hoping everything that they touch turns into gold. On a challenging home ground where no target is safe, having bowlers who are experienced in the conditions and have some sort of X-factor helps. But going for Joseph – with an economy rate of 8.50 – doesn’t inspire confidence. Also, someone forgot to tell them, they need spinners in their ranks as they have to turn to Karn Sharma and Glenn Maxwell. Despite entering the auction with only Rs 23.25 crore, they went for Pat Cummins all the way upto a bid of Rs 20 crore, suggesting how far they were off the mark.
Day and Knight gap
That Kolkata Knight Riders with a big purse would go for Mitchell Starc was on expected lines and they didn’t disappoint as they signed him for a record Rs 24.75 crore. But what it meant was, they had a very limited purse to work with when it comes to filling all the holes they have. They are a side that doesn’t prefer to go big on openers and with the core of Shreyas Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana around, they waited patiently to get players at a cheaper rate. That they managed to get Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Shane Rutherford, KS Bharat and Chetan Sakariya helped their case. It was a classic case of them going for one big buy who will give them the X-factor and choosing to trust their scouting system.
Mumbai’s dream
If their arch-rivals chose to invest big in resources from New Zealand, for Mumbai Indians with Mahela Jayawardene on board, they looked at three exciting young prospects. The inclusion of South Africa pace sensation Gerald Coetzee looked like he could be one of their main pacers this season at the Wankhede. But Mumbai, as usual, came to the table having done their homework and it showed. They went for Dilshan Madhushanka, a left-arm seamer who had a good outing against India in Mumbai and for Nuwan Thushara, called as ‘Little Podi’ and has a similar action to Lasith Malinga. It was another auction which stuck to Mumbai’s game plan as even with spinners they didn’t go big, just adding Shreyas Gopal to compliment Piyush Chawla.
Sunrisers to new headache
Let’s keep aside the fact that they became the first time team to touch the Rs 20 crore barrier in the player auctions. Having entered the auction with a huge purse, they got Wandindu Hasaranga and Travis Head for good rates that didn’t disrupt their plans much. But with Cummins coming in at Rs 20.50 crore, they seemed to be looking at him as a captain and now have a headache with regards to picking the other three overseas players in the XI. Only three among Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Glenn Phillips, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram or Hasaranga can make the cut. Like last season they have good depth in their squad, but that also means more headaches and puzzles to solve. Who will solve it remains the question.
Uncapped wonders
As usual, uncapped Indian players went for big money at the auction. With most of the star Indian players already having a destination, the likes of Sameer Rizvi, Shubham Dubey, Kumar Kushagra, Yash Dayal, Sumit Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, Robin Minz, M Siddharth turned into crorepatis. That not many capped players went in the range between 9-16 crore meant, franchises had the purse to spend on them, which may not have been possible at the big auction. And behind all of their purchase was not only a robust scouting system, but also how the domestic T20 leagues have become a feeder of sorts. Beyond the domestic tournaments, these state-run T20 leagues are now becoming a ladder for players to enter the IPL fray.
Forget the Titan
Replacing Hardik Pandya, who took them to a title and a final appearance in successive seasons, was never going to be easy. But with the Impact Player in rule in place and the team not short on leadership options, Gujarat went about further strengthening their squad. With good money in the bank, they went for Starc, Harshal Patel. Though they didn’t get both, they still managed to out muscle the rest when it came to Shahrukh Khan, Umesh Yadav, Robin Minz and going aggressively after Spencer Johnson, a promising left-arm pacer from Australia, who has domestic experience on his back. Another team that walks away knowing what their XI is.