IPL 2021 auction: A look at strategies of the teams

The IPL 2021 season is only a few months away and the franchises have started to assemble their troops in a hunt for the perfect combination. The auction for this edition will take place on February 18, and promises to be an engaging one. The teams will look to perfect their combinations and bolster their strengths.

Let's look at the potential strategies of each team:

Mumbai Indians

The Rohit Sharma-led champions have always been a force to reckon with in the IPL. They usually start the tournament at a slow pace, but gather steam gradually and finally grow into an unstoppable team. Their strategy of building the squad has always been on spot, and that is the main reasons behind their five-time IPL conquest. From unearthing talents like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya to bringing in established names like Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and the recently retired Lasith Malinga, Mumbai have always scrutinised their strength and weakness expertly and worked on them as per requirement.

In the upcoming auction, it is unlikely that Mumbai Indians will go for any big name as they have a very settled, seasoned squad who have the experience of winning the campaign. Quinton de Kock has decided to take a break from cricket because of mental health, and it is unclear whether he will take part in the upcoming IPL. But in Ishan Kishan, MI has a formidable back up so there is no need for them to fret over the issue. MI have released Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson and Mitchell McCleneghan and will look to add some quality overseas pacer in their ranks.

Read: Time for Dhoni's CSK to replace ageing Watson, says Gambhir

Mumbai Indians squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Chris Lynn, Anmolpreet Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Aditya Tare, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan.

Remaining purse: Rs 15.35 crore.

Slots left in the squad: 7 (4 overseas).

Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals have never won the IPL, and they came agonisingly close in the last edition, only to be beaten by Mumbai Indians in the final by five wickets. In Shreyas Iyer, they have a calm and composed young captain who is ably guided by the legendary Ricky Ponting. With Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan at the top and Rishabh Pant in the middle, Delhi have an explosive batting line-up that can dismantle any bowling attack on the given day.

Delhi may look to buy a domestic leg-spinner as Amit Mishra is 38-years-old and his fitness can prove to be cause for concern. Shimron Hetmyer and Ajinkya Rahane were not in great form last season, and if Pant fails to fire, Delhi will be staring at a not so dependable middle-order to carry them over the line. They can buy one established name who will provide the much-needed stability in the line-up and enable Pant to free his arms without any constraint.

Delhi Capitals squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Anrich Nortje, Chris Woakes.

Also read: IPL auction 2021: Harbhajan Singh, Kedar Jadhav line up alongside Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith in top bracket

Remaining purse: Rs 12.8 crore (before the Sams and Patel trade).

Slots left in the squad: 8 (3 overseas).

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore have seldom got their team strategy correct. They have a tradition of buying renowned batsmen in the auction while leaving their bowling flank weak and vulnerable. It may seem baffling that a team boasting of two best batsmen the game has ever seen, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, have failed to win the IPL. But RCB despite scoring truckloads of runs never managed to perform well in their bowling department.

That scenario changed last year and in Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, RCB have found bowlers who can throttle the opposition's attack with precision. The rise of these bowlers may enable them to buy some batsmen, especially an opener and a middle-order specialist who can ease the pressure from Kohli and de Villiers.

Royal Challengers Bangalore squad: Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Joshua Philippe, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahamad, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson.

Remaining purse: Rs 35.7 crore (will require update due to trade purchases).

Slots left in the squad: 11 (3 overseas).

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings were once the powerhouse in IPL, a team feared and revered by all. They are still considered a strong force, but the debacle in last year's edition where the finished in the last position has dampened their sheen to a great extent. Also, an ageing MS Dhoni seems to have lost his destructive power batting, which can hamper his team in the middle overs both while setting up a target and changing a big total as was seen in IPL 2020. Apart from Rituraj Gaikwad who played some fine knocks towards the end of the tournament and Sam Curran, no player looked capable of winning the match on his own. Shane Watson has retired from all forms of cricket, and CSK needs to find his replacement at the top of the order.

Read more: Sanjay Bangar appointed RCB batting consultant

Suresh Raina, who missed the last season because of personal reasons will be back in the CSK fold this time. But to get the aura back, CSK needs to strengthen their batting. So, they can primarily go for batsmen in the upcoming auction and also buy an Indian leg spinner as Piyush Chawla has been released and playing Imran Tahir may upset the balance of the playing XI.

Chennai Super Kings squad: MS Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Josh Hazlewood, Sam Curran, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, R Sai Kishore.

Remaining purse: Rs 22.9 crore.

Slots left in the squad: 7 (1 overseas).

Rajasthan Royals

The Rajasthan Royals raised quite a few eyebrows when they decided to let Steve Smith go after a disappointing IPL 2020 and named wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson as the new captain for the upcoming season. Steve Smith, despite his poor form last time, is one of the best in business and could have led Rajasthan to their much-awaited second IPL title. Sanju Samson's inexperience as an IPL captain means that the pressure will be on the team management to get the combinations right.

RR boasts some big names like Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler and David Miller. They have exciting young talents like Riyan Parah, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kartik Tyagi. But the biggest problem in their squad is the lack of experienced Indian campaigners. Manan Vohra is not a certainty in the starting XI. The batting can be bolstered by Samson, Buttler, Miller and Stokes, but they still need a batsman who can give them a breezy start in the opening slot. Their misery is much bigger in the bowling department. The bowlers leaked runs at crucial stages last season, at times looked completely incapable of stopping the opponent's onslaught. It is unfair to expect that Jofra Archer will win matches every day, and RR must look to buy some good bowlers to unburden Archen.

Read: Vivo may transfer IPL title rights; Dream11, Unacademy in contention

Rajasthan Royals squad: Sanju Samson (captain), Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Robin Uthappa.

Remaining purse: Rs 34.85 crore.

Slots left in the squad: 8 (3 overseas).

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad has decided to retain their core team ahead of the auction. They are one of those IPL teams who possess a threatening bowling attack capable of defending paltry score and execute the plans to perfection. Their batting though was a matter of concern in the last season. David Warner was consistent as usual, but Jonny Bairstow struggled to find his touch. Kane Williamson played the role of an anchor and guided the team to victory on multiple occasion.

The team, like SRH, has a good depth when it comes to Indian youngsters. The likes of Priyam Garg and Abdul Garg impressed with their performances last season, and T Natarajan emerged as of the best finds of the tournament. Even though SRH was a devastating bowling line up, their batting has looked a bit weak over the years. In case Warner and Bairstow fail at the top, then the middle-order gets exposed especially when it comes to chasing big totals. Williamson is not an explosive hitter, and Manish Pandey suffered a woeful lack of form in Dubai. The team management can bank on the youngsters to rise to the occasion, but they still need one batsman to provide momentum in the middle overs.

Sunrisers Hyderabad squad: David Warner (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha, Abdul Samad, Mitchell Marsh, Priyam Garg, Virat Singh.

Also read: Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun registers for IPL auction, sets base price at Rs 20 lakh

Remaining purse: Rs 10.75 crore.

Slots left in the squad: 3 (1 overseas).

Kings XI Punjab

Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran. These are the names at the top of Punjab's batting line-up that can send shivers down the spine of any bowling attack. The strong top-order is the primary reason why Punjab have been able to let go of Glenn Maxwell, who struggled last season. The names showed their might last season, hammering the bowlers and putting up a big score. Even while chasing, no score looked safe in front of their blades. But still, Punjab failed to qualify for the play-offs. Why?

Because much like RCB, bowling is Punjab's Achilles heel. And unlike RCB, they are yet to address that weakness. The team management placed much trust in Chris Jordan last season, but he leaked runs badly. Arshdeep Singh though impressed with his pace and line, and Mohammed Shami will be there to lead the attack. Their spinners are more than capable to hold their ground, but Punjab must go for one more foreign pacer who can provide support to the experienced Shami and the young Arshdeep.

Kings XI Punjab squad: KL Rahul (captain), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel.

Remaining purse: Rs 53.2 crore.

Slots left in the squad: 9 (5 overseas).

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders changed their captain midway last season from Dinesh Karthik to Eoin Morgan. Morgan, an ODI World Cup-winning captain, is probably one of the best players currently to lead a team. KKR also has their bowling attack sorted. Lockie Ferguson has emerged as a deadly white-ball bowler, and Pat Cummins showed last year that he can transform his Test excellence to the T20 format. Narine can check runs even though his mystery has been unravelled, and Varun Chakravarthy has shown how great he can be in this format.

But, KKR's batting concerns remain. Dinesh Karthik blew hot and cold in T20, and the team's trump card Andre Russell lacked the form and timing as bowlers targeted his weak spots. Shubman Gill's recent rise as India's future batting mainstay can provide confidence to the team management, but Gill is not exactly an explosive batsman. KKR will look to buy an established batsman to bolster their middle-order and also someone who can become a valuable addition in the opening slot.

Kolkata Knight Riders squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Tom Banton, Varun Chakravarthy.

Remaining purse: Rs 10.85 crore.

Slots left in the squad: 7 (1 overseas)