IPL Mega Auction – How The Teams Line Up Now
Written by: Dhruv • 26.11.2024
The IPL Mega Auction is over and there are some teams that have come away much better than the others! Here is a quick rundown of how the teams stack up after this massive reshuffle.
Chennai Super Kings
- Picked up a lot of players that seem to be heading towards the end of their careers or have seen a recent downswing.
- Clearly aiming to dominate in home conditions with a collection of world-class spinners (Ashwin, Jadeja, and Noor Ahmed) in their squad. Chepauk has been excellent for batting in recent seasons so the pitch may need to be prepared a bit differently.
- Stayed away from splashy big buys but made some smart picks based on their home conditions.
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CSK is going to be very difficult to beat in spin-friendly conditions that it will find in Chennai and Lucknow. It may not dominate but it will certainly be in the running for a spot in the playoffs.
Delhi Capitals
- Let Rishab Pant go but perhaps got the steal of the season with KL Rahul at 14 cr. He can open the batting, keep wickets, and also lead the team.
- Have added a tremendous amount of depth to their bowling lineup with Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, and retaining Mukesh Kumar.
- DC also has a strong batting lineup with most bases covered. We see Jake Fraser-McGurk, Harry Brook, and Tristan Stubbs find a place in the playing eleven if all of them are available.
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DC is significantly stronger after the auction than before and is one of the better-balanced squads. A potential challenge might be adapting to the slower conditions around India and also ensuring its big-overseas players remain injury-free. A definite contender for the playoff spot and perhaps the title.
Gujarat Titans
- Bought three big players in the auction (Jos Buttler, Mohammad Siraj, and Kagiso Rabada). Apart from Buttler, though, we have seen Siraj and Rabada have diminishing returns over the past few seasons. GT has bought pedigree but perhaps players that are not quite at their best anymore in the T20 format.
- Not having Hardik Pandya left a big hole in their team last season and we are not sure they have addressed it. The middle-order is still a bit weak and we also think the squad lacks depth. An injury to one of its leading players will leave it vulnerable.
- Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad were a deadly duo who locked up the middle overs but that will not be available to GT this time either.
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GT did not have a bad auction but they certainly did not have a great one. We think they could have been a bit smarter and picked players that gave them more of an identity. As things stand, we see GT struggling again this season and not making it into the playoffs.
Kolkata Knight Riders
- KKR is the defending champion of the IPL and so it was no surprise that it ended up with 12 of the same players from the previous season. We were shocked to see them spend 23.75 cr for Venkatesh Iyer but that can happen in an auction.
- KKR is still a strong team but there is no question that Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are nearing the ends of their careers. Also, losing Mitchell Starc and Phil Salt is a big blow. Their replacements (Quinton de Kock and Spencer Johnson) are not at the same level.
- It was clear that KKR went into this auction trying to retain what it had rather than build something new and this is why they did not make any big new buys. Adding Umran Malik and Anrich Nortje to the squad does give them some extreme pace which is a useful thing.
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We were surprised when KKR was so successful last season. It took something amazing from Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, and Varun Chakravarthy to be able to get them to the title. We would not bank on that happening once more. A possible playoff contender but a team that is much more beatable this time around.
Lucknow Super Giants
- Splashed 27 cr for Rishab Pant, an astonishing amount for a player who has not done much in the IPL over the last three seasons. As great a player as Pant is, we think his weakest format is T20 cricket.
- Managed to pick up Markram for a steal but putting faith in Mitchell Marsh has not worked for any IPL franchise in the past and we don’t think it will work this time either.
- A super strong batting lineup highlighted by Nicholas Pooran and David Miller plus a bowling unit that has some of the best Indian talent going around.
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LSG was a strong team in the previous two seasons and we can see it having another solid season. The auction will bring it a lot of attention but not necessarily the gains that it might expect. A place in the playoffs is definitely on the line but we don’t see it as the strongest team of the IPL, as many pundits are claiming.
Mumbai Indians
- We don’t think any team had a better auction than the Mumbai Indians. They had a strong core to build around with SKY, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, and Tilak Varma retained. They did not follow the herd and made some smart picks to cover every base.
- Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult give them control in the powerplay, Allah Ghazanfar and Mitchell Santner are excellent spin options, while Will Jacks is an unbelievable steal (still shaking our heads at RCB for letting him go) for them.
- MI has all its bases covered with genuine quality and it has taken some interesting punts as well. Picking uncapped New Zealander Bevan-John Jacobs is an example of how they scout better than other teams and gain an advantage at the auction.
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MI went missing last season under a new captain who struggled to win the crowd and his players. This time around, we think Hardik Pandya will find himself in charge of a much more cohesive unit with a lot more talent at his disposal. MI could see a sharp reversal in its fortunes and is a definite title contender once more.
Punjab Kings
- No other team went into the auction with a bigger purse but we think PBKS has made some obvious mistakes. Having Ponting as the coach has pushed them in the direction of picking a predominantly Aussie overseas player group. Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Josh Inglis have all been in the IPL for years and never really cracked it.
- The bowling attack looks quite imbalanced for PBKS. They spent a lot of money on Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, and Marco Jansen but we don’t see them combining well as a group.
- 26.75 cr for Shreyas Iyer is just an insane amount of money. He is a middling T20 player at best and although he has had success with KKR as captain, that is never a straightforward thing to replicate with other teams.
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Punjab Kings go to the auction and splash a massive amount of money only to restart again in a couple of seasons. We have seen this story play out a number of times and we think it might happen once more. Another poor season where they are likely to struggle for qualification is our prediction for them in IPL 2025.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
- RCB copped a lot of flack after the first day of the auction but we believe it came out brilliantly after the second day. Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, and Tim David are all fantastic T20 players to add to your squad. All genuine multi-faceted players that can win you matches single-handedly.
- RCB also tried to address some bowling concerns with the addition of Josh Hazelwood, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, and Yash Dayal. We still think this fast bowling unit is going to be taken apart quite regularly by opposition batters and will remain a weakness for RCB.
- Jacob Bethell may not get a lot of game time but he is a player that could end up being one of the best buys for RCB in the long run. A superb lower-order innovative hitter than can also contribute with the ball.
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No team has a fan base like RCB around India and even the world. However, we don’t think this is the year that they finally win the title. While they are likely to be in the hunt for a playoff spot, qualification is not going to be straightforward. A mid-table finish after everything is said and done seems to be in store.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
- After narrowly missing out on the title last season, SRH has kept the same core of last year’s squad but added a couple of big names. Ishan Kishan, Harshal Patel, Abhinav Manohar, and Mohammad Shami improve the Indian contingent of SRH dramatically.
- The potential batting lineup of SRH is scarily powerful with Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Reddy, and Abhinav Manohar in the lineup. No team will be comfortable setting them a target.
- The bowling unit is quite good also with Mohammad Shami, Pat Cummins, Rahul Chahar, and Adam Zampa (if needed). SRH is easily one of the strongest squads heading into IPL 2025 once more.
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SRH has the strength to be able to obliterate its opponents. Last season was all about its established foreign talent and emerging Indian youngsters. This season, it seems to have a better spread of Indian players while still keeping its overseas stars. We would be very surprised if SRH did not reach the playoffs once more.
Rajasthan Royals
- Lost a lot of massive players like Buttler, Chahal, Ashwin, and Boult but we think they hedged their bets nicely. RR retained its core of young Indian talent like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel because they are almost irreplaceable.
- RR managed to add quality bowlers like Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, and Maheesh Theekshana to their squad essentially following the same playbook that got them success in the last couple of seasons. Indian batting core with overseas bowlers.
- RR also picked up a 13-year-old in the auction, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and while we don’t think he will get a game, the fact that they picked him up shows they are willing to invest in young Indian talent for years to come.
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RR has always been a franchise that has picked players smartly and the Mega Auction continued that tradition. They have a strong team that can adapt well to different conditions. They also have a settled core to build around. We don’t see them winning but they will be contenders for a playoff spot for sure.
Keep an eye on our blog and IPL tournament page for 2025 match predictions, odds and more.
Dhruv Gupta is a seasoned cricket analyst passionate about numbers and patterns. He brings a data-driven approach to his cricket predictions. He's been following the sport for over a decade and has developed a keen eye for identifying trends and upsets. Dhruv is also on his journey to watch a Test Match at an Iconic venue in all Test Playing nations!
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