IPL 2020: How R Ashwin's trade from KXIP to Delhi Capitals could potentially hurt both the teams
The trade window for IPL 2020 is going to close in less than a week from now, on the 14th of November. This last week of the window has started becoming active; the second high-profile trade of the season took place on 7 November, between Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals.
As a part of this trade, Punjab's captain R Ashwin moved to Delhi Capitals, and in return the Capitals agreed to pay INR 1.5 Cr while also releasing their left-arm spinner J Suchith. Moreover, it was agreed that Delhi Capitals would be paying INR 7.6 Cr to Ashwin, which was his auction value when KXIP bought him in 2018.
However, there might be certain flaws in this deal, especially for Delhi Capitals. Here are the potential ways the trade could hurt the teams.
Too much spin for Delhi
Delhi Capitals, in the first trade of the season, brought in leg-spinner Mayank Markande from Mumbai Indians. This added to their already long list of spinners which included Rahul Tewatia, Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Hanuma Vihari and J Suchith.
When they already had five well-known spinners in the team, even the inclusion of Markhande made little sense. And now, they have traded a player who was not a part of their XI in 2019 for a marquee spinner like Ashwin.
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Ashwin is not a player you sign to warm your benches, so he is likely to play in the Delhi Capitals starting XI. That would leave the Capitals in a dilemma as to who else from among the spinners should be picked.
Will it be a veteran like Mishra, or will they go with someone like Tewatia or Patel? They also have a spinner from Nepal who has done well for them, in addition to the newly acquired Markande.
It is a problem of plenty for the Capitals, with no easy solutions.
Too much work for KXIP at the auction
Now with no Ashwin in the scheme of things, the workload on the auction table has increased for the Kings XI Punjab. Their starting XI looks good, but they seem to be lacking back-up options.
There is a big possibility that KL Rahul will be named the skipper of the team. Along with Rahul, it is likely going to be Chris Gayle who will open the innings. Even after the openers, the batting line-up does not seem to be a problem.
However, the bowling line-up needs plenty of work.
They have youngsters like Murugan Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy and Mujeeb Ur Rahman as a part of their spin department, with no established name to guide them. They will go into the auction looking to buy an experienced spinner.
As of now, there is no established spinner who is a part of the pool of players set to go under the hammer. So unless a team releases a big spinner from their dugout, the Kings will have their task cut out at the auction.
Potential ego clashes at Delhi Capitals
Big names like Shikhar Dhawan, Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma are already a part of the Delhi Capitals dug-out. With the addition of Ashwin, there is one more superstar added to that list.
Considering Ashwin's strong-willed personality coupled with the fact that he is not the captain of the team, there could very well be some ego clashes and eventually differences in opinion. We saw what happened with KKR in 2019; there was a heated exchange among the players on the field itself, in the middle of a game. It's easy to see how that kind of situation could be repeated in the Delhi camp next year.
Ego clashes are never healthy for any team, as they often hamper the performance of the players. After the good year that they enjoyed in 2019, Delhi would want to keep up their momentum and not let internal differences hamper their progress.