Hit, Miss or Meh | Dissecting the pre-auction window of every IPL team

Purse remaining: 14.60 cr

Player slots left: Five (three domestic, two overseas)

When CSK, on Thursday, announced that they were going to release 5 players, the entirety of their fanbase went on a social media meltdown, fearing if they’d let go one of the fan favorites or their loyal servants. Well, as things panned out, CSK pulled off the ultimate jest as not only did they retain all their main men, but also, in the process, let go of all their deadwood. Perhaps they could have been more aggressive in their releases - they retained five players who didn’t make a single appearance last season -  but it does seem like a well-calculated move keeping in mind the Mega Auction next year.  They are, perhaps, the most settled of all the teams at this moment and have the core that helped them reach the final in the last two seasons. The veterans are coming to raid the IPL for one last time and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Purse remaining: 13.05 cr

Is it fair to call Mumbai the Manchester City of IPL? Yeah, they are defending champions and of course, every season they land a big name or two ahead of the season. Last season, it was Quinton de Kock. This time around, it’s Trent Boult. Like Chennai, Mumbai have also retained almost every player who had a hand in them winning the title last year, whilst also adding Boult and Sherfane Rutherford to the sheds. Perhaps the release of both Joseph and Lewis is surprising, especially the latter, but with Bumrah, Malinga, McLeanaghan and now Boult in their ranks, the move makes all the more sense. The squad looks packed from top to bottom and Mahela Jayawardene & Co. would be ecstatic with the additions of Rutherford, Boult and Kulkarni even before the auction. A perfect pre-auction window if there ever was one.  

Purse remaining: 27.90 cr

Trust RCB to do something extraordinary, irrespective of whether the move makes sense or not. A staggering THIRTEEN players released with just the two foreigners - Moeen Ali and AB de Villiers - retained. Let me tell you, I honestly have no idea what the management is up to this season. Whilst the release of Steyn, Klaasen and Hetmyer is understandable, the move to let go of de Grandhomme, Coulter-Nile and Southee beggars belief, especially considering how thin the squad is when it comes to big hitters and death bowlers. Of course, after their horror-show last season, we did expect them to take a few extreme measures but with this kind of an exodus, all RCB have done is only put themselves under unimaginable pressure heading into the auction. They literally cannot afford to put a foot wrong. 

Purse remaining: 35.65 cr

Ladies and Gentlemen, the unthinkable has happened! Oh yes, I’m talking about KKR releasing the duo of Piyush Chawla and Robin Uthappa. But hey, who knows, they might still buy them back in the auction, so let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Despite them releasing a large chunk of their squad, you cannot argue with most of these releases. The likes of Brathwaite and Lynn have been serial underperformers while both Chawla and Uthappa seem to have their best days behind them. They already have a strong pace battery with the likes of Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti in the squad so Nortje’s release makes sense too. However, I do feel that they could have been a bit more proactive when it comes to trading. They did get Siddesh Lad, yes, but a lot more could have been done on that front. Like RCB, KKR will also need to have an A+ auction but unlike their Bengaluru counterparts, they seem to have taken the right steps in the build-up to it. 

Purse remaining: 27.85 cr

After years and years and years of rehauling teams, retaining players, changing captains and whatnot, Delhi finally, for once, managed to reach play-offs last season. It was extremely important for them to build on the momentum and go even further this season, so with the addition of both Ashwin and Rahane, they seem to have gone in the ‘experience’ route. But make no mistake, there are still a lot of things that need addressing. The lack of big-hitters and pace bowlers in the team is a major concern and now with Rahane in the mix, there is also a major decision to be taken in terms of sorting the batting order out. Whilst on the outset, it looks like they’re settled, there are gaping holes in the team that need to be fixed in the auction. 

Purse remaining: 17 cr

Is it only me or are we seeing a pattern here? The most settled, well balanced and consistent teams -  Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad - seem to be content with their existing core, only aiming to add a few players here and there. No coincidence, is it? The teams that stick together, the teams that know their teammates in and out generally tend to have sustained success. Either way, you cannot really argue with any of SRH’s releases. Bar Shakib, every one of the players they’ve released have been serial underperformers while with the man himself, they had no option but to pull the trigger. On paper, they do look like the strongest, most well-balanced team but saying that they still would need to add a couple of quality pacers to support Rashid and probably a world-class Indian batsman to compliment and take some load off Warner and Williamson.

Purse remaining: 28.90 cr

Well, RR are right up there with RCB in terms of the number of players they’ve released. One of their major problems last season was their inability to accelerate with the bat - both upfront and towards the end - so it is kind of baffling that they released Liam Livingstone, who is one of the hottest T20 prospects in world cricket at the moment. The good thing for them, however, is that in Steve Smith, Jofra Archer, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, they have their core set so they can look to build the team around them. The move to let go of Rahane was also, in my opinion, a smart one, as it now gives them the leverage to blood in a more aggressive batsman up top without having to worry about dropping a ‘big name’. But nevertheless, this mass exodus seems to be a panic move from the team management and has put them under pressure going into the auction. 

Purse remaining: 42.70 cr

42.70 crore left to spend for the nine remaining slots? In case you’re weak at math, that basically means KXIP can afford to spend 4.74 crore for each of the remaining nine slots in the auction. They released David Miller, arguably the biggest name to be let go this season and honestly, can you blame them? Season after season, they have banked on Miller to deliver and season after season, he has let them down. But they now find themselves in an interesting position ahead of the auction, with a truckload of money left to spend, thanks to them letting go all their big-money signings from last season. The addition of K Gowtham is also a sound one and in retrospect, thanks to them possessing a strong spin unit, the loss of Ravi Ashwin might not be a bad one, after all. But they, too, are guilty of having done very little in the trading window, when clearly, there was a lot to be taken. Their achilles heel - the pace department - is still as existent as ever and if that is not sorted out in the auction, expect another appalling season.