IPL Auctions 2018: Players that every team should target

The IPL has been able to attract the attention of the masses ever since its inception. India’s marquee T20 league returns for its 11th edition this April. However, the preparations already began on Thursday when the owners of all the teams met to reveal their list of retained players.

There were some surprises, as well as some obvious choices and hence the ceremony ended with mixed reactions from the fans. The real action though will begin later this month with the auction set to take place on January 27 and 28.

As we count down the days to the auction, let us take a look at players that each team would want to purchase:

Mumbai Indians - Adam Zampa

Players retained: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya

The defending champions retained their core group of Indian players. This now leaves them with an option to buy two players by using the right to match card in the auction.

Mumbai would surely want to strengthen their spinning department in the auction. They relied on the guile and experience of Harbhajan Singh for the first few seasons, however, the veteran's form has been on the decline of late and he was nowhere near his best in the last two seasons.

This saw him being dropped from the playing XI in favor of Karn Sharma. As a result, they would now need to look at other talented options in the pool. Adam Zampa has been in scintillating form in the past couple of years. He was Steve Smith's go-to bowler during his stint with RPS. Zampa is a fearless bowler and likes to give the ball considerable air while bowling.

He is a wicket-tacking bowler and would add a unique skillset to Mumbai Indians’ bowling line-up. Zampa is effective while bowling in the death overs as well. Unsurprisingly, Rohit would be relishing adding another special bowler in the team’s arsenal.

Chennai Super Kings - Dwayne Bravo

Players retained: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja

A move back to the place he loves looks likely

CSK are undoubtedly the most followed team in the IPL. The team have a huge fan-base and command unprecedented respect. Moreover, prior to their two-year suspension, CSK were the most successful team in the competition.

Unsurprisingly, the Madras-based team went ahead and retained the former India captain. Dhoni will now lead a side that will have the likes of Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja in their ranks. However, a vital player missing is Dwayne Bravo.

Bravo has been a legend of sorts for CSK. The West Indian single-handedly won them numerous matches during his time with the team. Bravo is an expert death bowler as well. During his stay at CSK, he developed a set of variations that saw him become the best bowler in this format of the game.

It is likely that he will be bought by CSK using their RTM card.

Royal Challengers Banglore: Nathan Coulter-Nile

Players retained: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan

The Australian was one of the best bowlers last season

It is just unbelievable to accept the fact that RCB haven't won the title even once. With the plethora of talents at their disposal, a title this time around is a must for Virat Kohli and his men.

RCB have often been criticized for turning a blind eye toward their mediocrity in the bowling department. They tried to solve it last season by buying Tymal Mills for a huge sum of 12.5 crores. However, the Englishman failed to match up to the expectations and ended up as a failed purchase.

This season, they would like to have another look at the options available in the fast bowling department. Nathan Coulter-Nile could be one of the key picks among the quicks for RCB. Coulter-Nile had a wonderful stint with Kolkata Knight Riders, picking 15 wickets from eight games for them.

The Australian can regularly clock 140 km/hr and likes to keep things tight in the final overs. He had an impressive economy rate of 8.04 last season. This is amazing considering the fact that he bowls most of his overs inside the powerplay or in the final stage of the innings.

Coulter-Nile is equally adept at bowling yorkers and has a whole set of variations up his sleeve. Overall, he could be a wise buy for the men from Bangalore.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Shikhar Dhawan

Players retained: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine

SRH preferred David Warner over Shikhar Dhawan

Rumors were rife that KKR were going to let go of Gautam Gambhir ahead of the auction. The Kolkata based outfit went with a rather uncanny plan and retained the likes of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.

Both these players have been inconsistent in the past couple of seasons. Russel is serving a suspension for his doping scandal and hence has barely played competitive cricket.

Ahead of the auctions, KKR have no good batsman to boast of. Russell and Narine are pinch-hitters at best. KKR would obviously need the services of a player who can anchor the innings while playing in the top-order.

Shikhar Dhawan will be a great addition to the team. Dhawan’s former team SRH did not retain him and that means Dhawan would be available in the auctions now. The man from Delhi has been in excellent form for the past couple of years.

Dhawan seems to have worked on the technical aspects of his game and is a threat in the shortest format of the game. His off-side shots are strong and he can take the game away from the opposition in the first six overs itself.

The pitch at Eden Gardens has been re-laid and the fast track will aid Dhawan’s attacking game. He can be the batsman around whom the entire batting order can be arranged for KKR.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Rashid Khan

Players retained: David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Rashid Khan

VVS Laxman was entirely sure about the players he was retaining for Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team retained their best batsman and the best bowler from the previous two seasons. David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been pillars for this team. It was expected that the team would go ahead with the duo and hence there were no major surprises here.

Now, they have three right to match cards and can use one of them to buy an international player. Sunrisers have been known to keep faith in their bowlers to do the job. Sunrisers possessed probably the best bowling lineup in their title-winning campaign of 2016. Last time around, they spent the big bucks to gain the services of a talented lad from Afghanistan. Rashid Khan has slowly risen to prominence in the international arena.

The youngster is already considered one of the best leg-spinners in the world. He is an attacking bowler and does not fear leaking runs to take wickets.

He can bowl the googly really well and most of the non-subcontinental batsman find it difficult to figure out his variations. Rashid was one of the first names on the team-sheet for Sunrisers and it is possible that they would try their best to buy him back again.

Last season, he featured in 14 matches and took 17 wickets for the team. Unlike most leg spinners, he has good control over his length.

Given his past performances, it is almost inevitable that Sunrisers would use their RTM card on him.

Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir

Players retained: Chris Morris, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer

Gambhir won two titles with KKR

Delhi Daredevils have always lacked a stable leader in the team. Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Mahela Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen, JP Duminy, Zaheer Khan etc have all been tried in the role with little to no success.

Hence, a captain is of paramount importance if they are to challenge for the league title this season.

They can surely place their bets on a player who served them for three seasons. Gambhir led KKR to two IPL titles but was not retained by them this time.

This means Gambhir will be among the players up for sale in the auction. DD can use this opportunity to lure him to their side. Though the 36-year-old has struggled for form with the bat, his leadership abilities are unmatched.

Gambhir is a passionate cricketer and likes to lead the team from the front. Pressure situations seem to bring out the best of him. He has been a consistent run scorer in the IPL and even crossed the 4000-run mark last season.

Moreover, he knows the local players well and trusts them to perform. The Daredevils will be playing half of their group stage games at Ferozshah Kotla. Gambhir, having played the majority of his first-class career at the venue, will be well informed about the pitch conditions.

DD retained the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. These are two young talents with the potential to take the league by storm. Now, with the experience and guidance of Gambhir, they can achieve even greater heights in the IPL.

Rajasthan Royals: Ben Stokes

Player retained: Steve Smith

Stokes was the most expensive player in the last auction

Rajasthan Royals have always been a team that have put their faith in younger players. They have nurtured the likes of Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, and Karun Nair amongst the others. All these players have achieved a considerable amount of success playing for India.

However, a much-forgotten fact is that the Royals always had some solid international stars in their ranks. Shane Warne, Graeme Smith, Shane Watson and James Faulkner have represented the team in various seasons.

However, Watson and Faulkner have been very inconsistent in the past couple of seasons. Kevon Cooper has faded into obscurity and hence the team would like to add some new all-rounders to the roster.

Ben Stokes became the most expensive international player in the history of the IPL last season. He was bought for a whopping sum of over 2 million USD by RPS. Stokes proved to be worth that money and scored 306 runs in his 12 matches. He also scalped 12 wickets in what was a great season for RPS.

Stokes can add some real quality and depth to RR's squad. He is one of few players who can bowl the entire quota of four overs and bat in the top five positions for a team.

If Rajasthan acquire his services, they will surely be genuine title-contenders.

Kings XI Punjab: Ravichandran Ashwin

Player retained: Axar Patel

A possible captain?

Like the Daredevils, KXIP haven't had a good captain on a consistent basis. Last year, they experimented with Glenn Maxwell to disastrous effect. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs, extending their run of poor results.

Punjab's tendency to let go of big players and constantly chop and change their squad has hurt them in the past. This time too they have decided to completely overhaul the side having retained only Axar Patel.

It seems unlikely that KXIP will retain the likes of David Miller and Glenn Maxwell.

Meanwhile, with Ravi Ashwin not being retained by CSK, he could possibly head to Punjab. Ashwin is a clever bowler and reads the game well. He can also be a great captain for KXIP.

Moreover, the man from Tamil Nadu is always extremely committed to whichever team he plays for. Ashwin regularly works on his variations and can be a bright prospect to lead a disgruntled KXIP side.