3 teams who should target Trent Boult in IPL 2025 Auction ft. Mumbai Indians
The mega-auction for the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League will get underway on Sunday, November 24. All teams will aim to build a strong squad and get their hands on the coveted trophy. While some will be eyeing their first title, some will look to add more to their trophy cabinet.
The IPL 2024 saw batters causing havoc on the field and the record for the highest team total in the tournament’s history was broken multiple times. With batters getting so much advantage, teams would look to build a strong bowling squad to have a level playing field.
One big name that will go under the hammer this time is Trent Boult. The New Zealand pacer has been one of the finest bowlers in the league, having represented several five teams throughout his IPL career, with the last one being Rajasthan Royals.
He started his IPL career in 2015 with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) before moving to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He also represented Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians (MI) after moving away from SRH and finally found his place in the Rajasthan Royals squad, who released him ahead of the mega auction.
One of the finest powerplay bowlers that the world of cricket has ever seen, many teams will be looking to get him in their ranks and strengthen their pace unit. Rajasthan do have the RTM option, but if they reserve that for a different player, the auction arena might see a good battle between the franchises.
On that note, let’s look at three teams, apart from Rajasthan Royals, who should target Trent Boult in the IPL 2025 auction:
#3 Kolkata Knight Riders
The 2024 auction saw KKR going all out for Mitchell Starc, eventually buying the Australian pacer for a record-shattering INR 24.75 crore, making him the costliest player in the tournament’s history. Having released him ahead of the 2025 season, they’ll look to build a strong squad to defend their title.
With batters going bonkers in the powerplay overs, teams need high-rated players to tackle the situation in the early stage of the innings. Boult, for one, is known for his consistent wicket-taking skills in the powerplay, and many times on the innings’ first delivery.
Three-time champions KKR also released their skipper Shreyas Iyer, and will be on the hunt for a new captain, and Boult’s experience will hand them that advantage as well. With Harshit Rana retained by the squad, and the conditions on offer at Eden Gardens, the Kiwi’s addition will be all but beneficial.
#2 Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad have retained two pacers, skipper Pat Cummins and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. The 2016 champions have had top-class and deadly bowlers in their squad previously. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s heroics with SRH are well documented, and hence they won’t think much while adding another pacer to the squad.
The Orange Army made it to the final last year, and their players broke several records as well. They put up some memorable performances, only for the summit clash against KKR to become their ‘one bad day.’
SRH batters broke many powerplay records in 2024, and the team would hope for their bowling unit to do the same in the upcoming edition. Boult’s addition would balance the team really well and the combination of class batters and class bowlers will position SRH much higher.
#1 Mumbai Indians
With a world-class bowler Jasprit Bumrah in their ranks, adding Boult back to the squad will only be a cherry on top of the cake. The Kiwi pacer represented MI for two years, with the then-Rohit Sharma-led side lifting the cup for the fifth time in Boult’s maiden outing with the team in 2020.
The pace-bowling sensation even described his 2020 outing with MI as one of his ‘finest cricketing memories’ after winning the silverware. That year, MI’s campaign saw Bumrah and Boult wreaking havoc with the new ball, handing their side an early advantage on several occasions.
Since lifting their fifth title, MI have had some forgettable outings, finishing fifth in the 2021 edition and last in the 2022 and 2024 editions. The mega auction will allow MI’s think tank to rectify their past mistakes and build a squad that can help them lift a record sixth title in the 2025 edition.