IPL Auctions, 2018: One overseas player each franchise could release in the trade
There are still approximately five months left before the 12th edition of Indian Premier League kicks off but the aura of this splendid tournament has led to, it became one of the ‘Hot Topics’ in the entire cricket fraternity.
The fans’ excitement is increasing by leaps and bounds as the auction is around the corner and the first transfer window has already been unfastened. The teams have started to swap and trade the players. Since the auction is likely to be held on 16th December 2018, the franchises have been asked to submit a final list of the players released and retained by them till 15th November i.e. one month before the auctions. This means that the teams still have about 20 days to make their squads stronger through the trading window.
Whilst some of the franchises haven't shown any interest in the preseason trading window, some of the teams have already swung into the action. The Mumbai-based team Mumbai Indians has made a couple of changes in their team as they have released the Sri Lankan off-spinner Akila Dananjaya along with the Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman who was bought by the team in the previous season for 220 and 50 lakhs respectively.
Some reports also state that the star SRH opener Shikhar Dhawan has moved to KXIP because he was unhappy with the Sunrisers team management.
There are some other overseas players as well who are currently useless for their present team but could turn out to be an X-factor for another franchise.
Thus, in the following slides, we will have a look at an overseas player each team should release in the off-season trading window
Kolkata Knight Riders - Mitchell Johnson
Kolkata Knight Riders performed quite impressively last time as they were the third-ranked side of the championship. The Dinesh Karthik-led franchise has a very balanced side as they aren’t too weak in any aspect. The team has adequate depth in batting and has a wonderful bowling line-up consisting some brilliant seamers and quality spinners.
Whilst on one hand, the team has Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, and Piyush Chawla as their lead spinners, on the other hand, the pace battery contains pacers such as Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and Mitchell Starc. And with such bowlers already into the squad, Mitchell Johnson's role is going to be minimal. And it will be better for the franchise to release him as it will help them to regain their 2 crores in the auction.