Huge amounts of money were spent in Kolkata on the 19th December as the IPL 2020 Auction took place. Teams like KKR, RCB, RR, and KXIP who had to do the bulk of buying were pretty much active in the auction for the 13th edition of the IPL. The other teams like CSK, MI and SRH were fairly subdued in spending their money.
Australian and West Indian players like Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Sheldon Cottrell, Nathan Coulter Nile, and Shimron Hetmyer had big paydays as all of them went over 7 CR. The IPL Auction is a place where you can win half the battle before the battle starts. If you pick the right players at the right price then half the battle is won.
Teams can pick some of the best players and make the strongest possible squads. On that note, let’s have a look at three teams with the strongest squads after the Auction.
- Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders had released a lot of players before the IPL 2020 Auction and there had a few questions to answer. They had released their hard-hitting opener, Chris Lynn, their trusted Indian batsman Robin Uthappa and their ever-reliable leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.
They had 35.65 CR in their purse but they had to fill in a lot of places and get some back-ups as well and after the auction, you have to say that they have done a good job. Along with Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana and Dinesh Karthik they have got the experience of Eoin Morgan in the middle-order. They got the best fast bowler Pat Cummins to support the likes of Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Shivam Mavi, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. They beefed up their spin department by picking up the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. KKR even got the young aggressive opener, Tom Banton.
A good auction for Kolkata Knight Riders has led to a good squad which will keep them in good stead for the upcoming season of the IPL.
- Chennai Super Kings
CSK hadn’t released many players before the IPL 2020 auction and so they didn’t have much to do in this auction. With a very limited purse, they still managed to strengthen their squad with a few smart picks.
They needed a back-up for Dwayne Bravo and they have got one in Sam Curran. Curran can even open the batting as a pinch hitter in case Shane Watson isn’t fit or out of form. Piyush Chawla’s inclusion might come as a surprise considering they had many spinners but Stephen Fleming mentioned they wanted to have another experienced spinner in the mix.
CSK needed a back-up for Lungi Ngidi who is injury prone and they picked up Josh Hazlewood for his base price. Towards the end, they even picked up Tamil Nadu’s left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore. CSK is looking stronger after the auction and it would be interesting to see where the finish in this season of the IPL.
- Mumbai Indians
If there was one team who could pick a playing XI even before the auction it was the IPL 2019 Champions – Mumbai Indians. They had their XI ready and just wanted a few back-ups and they have got some really strong ones.
Mumbai Indians started the auction by picking up Australia’s Chris Lynn who was supposed to be one of the top picks for just 2 CR. They were engaged in a bidding war with CSK for Nathan Coulter Nile and eventually bought him for 8 CR. They have a very strong fast bowling core with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga and now Nathan Coulter Nile.
The picked up a few domestic players towards the end as back-ups. Their core has always remained intact and that’s the case this year as well. With such a strong squad, the defending champions will start as one of the favorites for the next season.
