IPL 2024: MI, CSK make smart buys; SRH look settled while RCB lack bowling teeth

IPL 2024 Auction: Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings make smart buys; Sunrisers Hyderabad look strongest while RCB lack bowling options. Team wise auction report and how team looks after.

CSK made good buys at IPL 2024 Auction but what about bowling? (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

The riveting auction day ended with bidding wars above the INR 20 crore-mark for Australia’s Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, lucrative deals for players like Travis Head, Rachin Ravindra, Harry Brook, Shardul Thakur and a few surprising unsold players in Phil Salt, Keshav Maharaj, Josh Inglis, Josh Hazlewood etc. 

The franchises have fine-tuned their teams filling in the necessary gaps in this mini-auction and their fortunes for the forthcoming IPL 2024.  The viewership of the mini-auction reached a staggering peak of 5.2 crores which was roughly 4-5 times the viewership of IND-SA 2nd ODI played on the same day showing piqued interests and excitement of the avid cricket viewers for the upcoming IPL season. 

Let us know about how teams like MI, RCB, CSK and SRH fared at the auction and how settled their squad looks after the completion of this year’s auction. 

MI bought Gerald Coetzee for INR 5 cr at the Auction (Photo: ©X/Twitter)

Mumbai Indians- The Smart Purchasers

The Mumbai Indians had a good auction day where the team needed to address a few of its gaps to strive for the team balance and they did achieve the same. They got in a handful of talented pacers in Gerald Coetzee who had a memorable debut World Cup outing being the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, Dilshan Madushanka who troubled batters with his raw left-arm pace in the ICC World Cup while being the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament and Nuwan Thusara whose slinging bowling action and consistently Yorker-hitting length reminds of MI legend Lasith Malinga. They also bought Shreyas Gopal and Mohammed Nabi to strengthen their spin department. 

With Hardik Pandya’s notable inclusion as the leader of the pack, the absence of Cameron Green won’t hurt. MI brought in an India all-rounder instead which will allow them to play one more overseas option to sort out a proper winning combination. The top five are all India batters along with finishers in Tim David. The pace department is spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah along with other pacers in the line which consist of Coetzee, Behrendroff and Madhushanaka. One or two amongst them can support Bumrah at the other end. Overall MI looks like a balanced team on paper ticking the boxes aiming for its 6th IPL trophy.

MI players bought at IPL 2024 auction: Gerald Coetzee (Rs. 5 crore), Dilshan Madushanka (Rs. 4.60 crore), Shreyas Gopal (Rs. 20 lakh), Nuwan Thushara (Rs. 4.80 crore), Naman Dhir (Rs. 20 lakh), Anshul Kamboj (Rs. 20 lakh), Mohammad Nabi (Rs. 1.5 crore), Shivalik Sharma (Rs. 20 lakh).

MI IPL 2024 Full Squad: Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, N. Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd, Hardik Pandya (c), Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma. 

Read More: Hardik Pandya, the new MI skipper: What the future holds for Mumbai

Alzarri Joseph to pair Siraj with the new ball at RCB (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Couldn’t help their depleted and shallow bowling unit

RCB didn’t have such a great outing at this year’s mini-auction as they were unable to solidify the bowling department which seems to be their weak link every season. RCB released Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel and Josh Hazlewood before the auction and were unable to purchase the bowlers matching their skills. 

They bought Alzarri Joseph at INR 11.5 crores after getting engaged in a bidding war with CSK, DC and LSG. They also picked up the pacers Yash Dayal, Tom Curran and Lockie Ferguson into their squad and invested in a young slow left-arm spin bowler Swapnil Singh. Despite these purchases, the bowling unit of RCB looks substandard with a weak spin unit. The quandary remains ahead of RCB management as to whom they will entrust the pace department along with Mohammad Siraj. They have pace options in Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson and Reece Topley but their inconsistencies and injury woes can make matters worse for RCB. 

What saves the grace for Royal Challengers Bangalore is their top 6 which boasts of a strong intimidating batting core and probably the best-looking top 6 of all the teams. RCB will aim to forget their auction table performance and emulate compelling performance on the field in a bid to chase the dream of an elusive trophy having been very close to the trophy two times in 2009 and 2016.

RCB players bought at IPL 2024 auction: Alzarri Joseph (Rs. 11.50 crore), Yash Dayal (Rs. 5 crore), Tom Curran (Rs. 1.5 crore), Lockie Ferguson (Rs. 2 crore), Swapnil Singh (Rs. 20 lakh), Saurav Chauhan (Rs. 20 lakh).

RCB Full Squad IPL 2024: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan. 

Read More: IPL 2024: Royals and Titans look settled on paper; Knight Riders lack death bowling options

Sameer Rizvi was bought by CSK for INR 8.4 crore (Photo: ©CricCrazyJohns/Twitter)

Chennai Super Kings - CSK aims for glory in Mahi’s last season

If there is one team for whom the auction table’s performance never really mattered, that’s CSK. They performed quite well in auctions as they managed to rope in a good bunch of players at lucrative deals. CSK managed to get a steal in the form of Rachin Ravindra who recently had a World Cup outing worth remembering as he was the fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament scoring three centuries which defines his gritty ability and mindset required for bigger tournaments. 

Chennai Super Kings also roped in Daryl Mitchell for a whopping 14 crores to get in a like-to-like replacement for Ben Stokes. Mitchell’s ability to play both pace and spin effectively in subcontinent conditions and his recent form in the World Cup attracted high bidding for him. But CSK was unable to find a like replacement for Ambati Rayadu so the middle order of CSK will heavily rely on Shivam Dubey and Ajinkya Rahane to fill the shoes of Rayadu. 

The batting order of CSK looks well sorted but it’s the sorting of bowling combinations that will require a lot of calculation. CSK have also acquired the services of Shardul Thakur in a 4 crore deal and will expect the Chahar-Thakur duo to emulate match-winning bowling spells as they did for CSK earlier in previous seasons. 

Matheesha Pathirana had a good IPL season last year as he claimed 21 wickets in 14 matches and he mainly used to bowl at death. The lack of a proper India death bowler will put the onus of death bowling on Pathirana’s shoulders so the team needs to work out the best bowling combination. The team looks well sorted to put in their best foot forward in defending their previous season’s trophy aiming for the 6th IPL trophy to give MS Dhoni a perfect farewell.

CSK players bought at IPL 2024 auction: Rachin Ravindra (Rs. 1.8 crore), Shard Thakur (Rs. 4 crore), Daryl Mitchell (Rs. 14 crore), Sameer Rizvi (Rs. 8.40 crore), Mustafizur Rahman (Rs. 2 crore), Avanish Rao Aravelly (Rs. 20 lakh).

CSK IPL 2024 Squad: MS Dhoni (c), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly. 

Read More: IPL 2024 Auction: Starc, Cummins, Mitchell, Harshal top bids; MI, RR, SRH look settled on paper

Travis Head to solve top order problem for SRH? (Photo: ©ICC/Twitter)

Sunrisers Hyderabad - SRH sees a potential suitor for captaincy in Pat Cummins 

SRH had a good auction last year but it couldn’t translate in the same way on the field. This year also they performed exceptionally well at the auction table roping in a good bunch of players to their squad. SRH managed to steal Wanindu Hasaranga at the base price and they also roped in WTC final and ICC ODI WC final hero Travis Head at a lucrative deal of 6.8 crores. They have also roped in World Cup-winning Australia skipper Pat Cummins in the first ever 20 crore+ deal. 

With all these buys, the already strong on-paper SRH’s core has been further solidified where the batting, bowling and all-around departments look well sorted. SRH have given themselves strong contenders in the form of Aiden Markram and Pat Cummins to take up the leadership role. But the biggest dilemma they will be facing is to sort out their best overseas combination. If the management can crack the code, the team looks quite unstoppable in chasing their second IPL trophy after a hiatus of 8 years.

SRH players bought at IPL 2024 auction: Travis Head (Rs. 6.80 crore), Wanindu Hasaranga (Rs. 1.5 crore), Pat Cummins (Rs. 20.50 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (Rs. 1.60 crore), Akash Singh (Rs. 20 lakh), Jhathavedh Subramanyan (Rs. 20 lakh).

SRH IPL 2024 Full Squad: Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram ©, Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, T. Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan. 

Read More: IPL 2024: Team Analysis - LSG, PBKS & DC