IPL 2019: What the teams are looking for in the auction
The IPL auction is round the corner, and the teams have already kept their plans and back-ups ready for the auction. The auction this time will just be a 1-day affair in Jaipur on the 18th of December. The teams after retaining their players have limited resources left to fill in the remaining slots, and make a complete balanced side. This auction is going to be a challenging one, with the doubt of the availability of big players due to the World Cup that follows the IPL.
It will be very interesting to see how the teams go about the auction, and which team will be able to succeed in the strategies they have laid out so far.
Based on the list of retained players, here's what the teams might be looking at, come the auction.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
CSK, the defending champions, have retained almost the whole team this time. The message is loud and clear, that the team is built too good to release a core player. Also, because the average age of the team is above 30, this team has players that have stopped playing for their country. Hence, they don't have much of a headache of the World Cup, as the other teams do. Their playing XI last year was as good as any, and the so-called veteran side of IPL 2018, defied all predictions of health and fitness by putting up a top-show and lifting the trophy
For the auction in December, CSK has 8.4 Cr left, and can buy a maximum of 2 players, both being Indians. There is going to be a huge scarcity of Indians at the auction, especially of those who are or have played international cricket.
So the team from the south might like to invest in someone local who knows the Chepauk track well. It is going to be an almost idle auction for the yellow table in Jaipur, this winter. There is no real reason for Dhoni's men to tinker around with their playing XI, and except minimal changes in the names that take the field, from the 2018 IPL.