When the 10 franchises sit for the IPL mega auction in Riyadh in the last week of Nov, the event will revolve around most teams looking for a new captain. Indian wicket-keepers will also be in demand. Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are likely to dictate the course of the auction. Don’t be surprised to see Washington Sundar’s stocks rising.
TOI takes a look at what each IPL team will be vying for in the auction…
Chennai Super Kings: The biggest concern for the franchise is to find a definitive successor to MS Dhoni. Pant will obviously be the desired option but their remaining purse of Rs 55 cr could handicap them. Ishan Kishan could be an option if MI don’t use the right-to-match (RTM) card.
Delhi Capitals: With Pant leaving the franchise, DC will be looking for a captain who can match Pant’s brand value. The buzz is the franchise will go all out to bring back Shreyas Iyer, who had captained them to an IPL final in 2020.
Gujarat Titans: They have retained their captain Shubman Gill. They had worked with Wriddhiman Saha in the last three seasons. They may also eye Pant with a remaining purse Rs 69 cr.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Having let go of their title-winning captain Iyer, they are also looking for a captain. KL Rahul and Jos Buttler could be their options with a purse of just Rs 51 cr left.
Lucknow Super Giants: They have Rs 69 cr left in the purse, with Nicholas Pooran getting Rs 21 cr as top retention. They are likely to go all out for Pant as captaincy and wicketkeeping option after releasing KL Rahul
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Mumbai Indians: They spent heavily on retentions and have also announced Hardik Pandya as their captain. They are likely to use their sole RTM for Ishan Kishan.
Punjab Kings: With Ricky Ponting taking charge as head coach, the franchise has let go of everyone except Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh. With Rs 110 cr left in the purse, new head coach Ricky Ponting will be looking to build the entire squad around Pant. PBKS are likely to be the biggest competition for other franchises. They will look to use RTM for Arshdeep Singh.
Rajasthan Royals: They have used up most of the purse to retain the core of the team. They will only look to buy support players for the likes of Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Yashashvi Jaiswal with a purse of Rs 41 cr left.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: With Rs 83 cr in the bank, they have the highest purse remaining after PBKS. Dinesh Karthik becoming the batting coach opens up a slot for a captain and Indian wicketkeeper. Indications are they may go for Pant, with Rahul as a backup option.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Besides MI and RR, SRH is the only other team which looks sorted. They will also go for support players for Klassen, Cummins, Head, Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Reddy with Rs 45 cr left in the bank.
Text: Arani Basu