IPL Auction 2019: Team-wise analysis of likely strategies and potential buys
A total of 346 players will go under the hammer at the IPL 2019 Auction on December 18 in Jaipur.
Most of the franchises have decided to persist with their core, so a maximum of 70 players can be acquired in arguably the most low-profile IPL Auction ever with many international stars set to be unavailable for either part of or the entire season due to the ICC World Cup scheduled to commence a week after the conclusion of the league.
Another variable which could contribute to squad composition is the lack of clarity over where the tournament will be held with 2019 being an Election year in India; South Africa and the UAE have emerged as likely alternative venues and the franchises will have to ensure adequate depth in their squad to adapt to different conditions.
A combination of these factors will lead to a surge in the value of domestic Indian players along with an increased demand for utility overseas cricketers who would not have otherwise managed to earn an IPL contract if the franchises weren't concerned about the availability of their match-winners from Australia, England and South Africa.
Let us look at each of the eight franchises and their potential acquisitions at the auction:
Chennai Super Kings
Retained: MS Dhoni [c], Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis*, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Billings*, Mitchell Santner*, David Willey*, Dwayne Bravo*, Shane Watson*, Lungi Ngidi*, Imran Tahir*, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Karn Sharma, Dhruv Shorey, N Jagadeesan, Shardul Thakur, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi
Released: Mark Wood, Kanishk Seth, Kshitiz Sharma
Available Auction Purse: INR 8.40 crore
Available Slots: 2 (Indian 2; Overseas 0)
Auction Strategy:
Sit back and relax. Their squad is virtually complete having retained 23 players from their victorious 2018 campaign. But given that they still have a decent purse remaining, CSK could prove to be party spoilers for other franchises. Shardul Thakur was inconsistent last season and the Super Kings would be keen to add another experienced Indian seamer if possible.
Potential Acquisitions: Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishant Sharma.