2019 IPL auction: One bowler each team could buy

The 2019 IPL is just four months away and it will be the talk of the town in a few days' time as the IPL auction is scheduled to take place in Jaipur on December 18.

The teams would have already started their preparations for the tournament. The team management will have their task cut out as they will be trying to figure out the right combination for their team going into the tournament.

With just over two weeks left, the teams would have marked their priorities as they sit and take on each other in the 2019 IPL auction. In the player retention ahead of the IPL auction, a few teams played it safe by retaining the core of their side while some let go a majority of their players in a bid to re-build a team for the upcoming season.

One of the biggest challenges for the franchises in the 2019 auction will be picking the right players keeping in mind the possible change of venue from India to either South Africa or UAE and the 2019 World Cup because of which most of the international teams might not allow their players to take part in the whole tournament.

Keeping these things in mind, let us take a look a bowler each team could get in the upcoming IPL auction.

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Chennai Super Kings - Mohit Sharma

Chennai Super Kings, going into the 2019 auction, have retained the core of their title-winning 2018 IPL squad as they released just three players, ahead of the upcoming season. Irrespective of where the tournament is going to be held, CSK have all their bases covered.

Spearheaded by South African pacer Lungi Ngidi, Chennai have the likes of Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, David Willey, Dwayne Bravo and Shane Watson in the pace bowling department while the likes of Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma etc. complete the spin attack.

So, it is safe to say that Chennai don't actually need a bowler in the IPL auction. However, last season Chennai Super Kings bowlers struggled in the death overs and this could mean that the team management might be tempted to go for a bowler who is actually good in the death overs.

Mohit Sharma, who did a fine job for CSK till 2015, is one candidate who can come back to the Yellow Army as he is someone who is trusted by Dhoni and can bowl well with the new ball and in the death overs.

Delhi Daredevils - Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan

Last season, Delhi Daredevils' season all but came to an end when their South African imports Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris were ruled out of the tournament due to respective injuries. This season, the pair might not play the whole tournament as they are a part of South Africa's plan in the 2019 World Cup and the board might want them to rest prior to the global extravaganza.

Delhi will look to have a few alternatives ready if the Protea duo misses out of the tournament. While they have the likes of Trent Boult and Avesh Khan to do the job with the new ball, they need someone who can win matches for them in the death overs. Chris Jordan, the out-of-favour England pacer, is still one of the better T20 players in the world and can be a handy bowler in the death overs. With Jordan in the side, Delhi will have their death bowling sorted and have a batsman who can use the long handle to perfection coming in at number 8 or below.

Mumbai Indians - Ben Laughlin

Ben Laughlin

Mumbai Indians released the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Pat Cummins, Pradeep Sangwan etc. going into the IPL auction. The three-time Champions are left with Jason Behrandorff, who is expected to take the new ball, the best white-ball bowler in the world, Jasprit Bumrah, all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya and then the spinners. If Bumrah and Pandya brothers are rested through the tournament keeping the World Cup in mind, Mumbai might miss three of their biggest match winners.

So, they will look to buy a good death bowler in the IPL auction. Australian pacer Ben Laughlin is one bowler who is very underrated in the T20 format as a death bowler as he has tasted a lot of success for his side Adelaide Strikers and is the leading wicket-taker in the history of Big Bash League. Laughlin is a very good death bowler and can be a perfect foil for Bumrah in the death overs and if Bumrah is rested, he has enough experience to lead the team's bowling in the death overs.

Kings XI Punjab - Jaydev Unadkat

Jaydev Unadkat

Last season, Kings XI Punjab bowlers which had the likes of skipper R Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Ankit Rajpoot etc. did a decent job but failed to make it to the playoffs, thanks to their batting line-up that relied a lot on their openers.

Ahead of this IPL auction, Kings XI have released a lot of majority of their players and will look to rebuild their squad going into the tournament. They will also look to buy an Indian pacer who can bowl in the death overs and could look at Jaydev Unadkat, who was picked by Rajasthan Royals right from KXIP's hands in the last auction.

Now that the Royals have released Unadkat, Kings XI could fancy their chances and land the bowler they missed in the last IPL auction. Unadkat, who has a lot of variations up his sleeve, has done well in the death overs in the past and can be a reliable option for his team if he is backed well.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Chris Woakes

Chris Woakes

Kolkata Knight Riders, in spite of releasing a lot of players from their previous squad, have a strong squad at their disposal. Even with their current squad, they can challenge any IPL side for the title.

However, one concern where they will look to address is their overseas fast bowlers' department. The franchise have released the likes of Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Tom Curran, Javon Searles and are left with Andre Russell as the only overseas pacer with three Indian pacers, Prasidh Krishna, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi being the Indian pacers.

Kolkata will look to bring in an experienced bowler to lead their pace attack and Chris Woakes is one name who could be in the reckoning for that role. Woakes, who has already played for KKR in the past, is someone who can lead a team's pace attack as he is very good with both bat and ball. Kolkata will look to get his services in the auction and lead their pace attack in the upcoming season.

Rajasthan Royals - Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami

After the release of Indian pacer Jaydev Unadkat, Rajasthan Royals are left with Dhawal Kulkarni as the only Indian pacer in their squad. In the upcoming auction, they will look for an upgrade and will look to sign an experienced pacer to lead their bowling attack.

There are quite a few Indian pacers in the auction pool and one name who could be the perfect solution to Royals' problems is Indian pacer Mohammed Shami. Shami broke into the scene as one of the good limited-overs bowlers in the country as he had everything that is needed to sustain in international cricket. But, over the last few years, he slowly became a Test bowler and has hardly played white ball cricket for India and for his IPL side.

Now that he is released by Delhi Daredevils, he could be one of the most sought-after bowlers in the IPL as he can be a potent weapon in the death overs and Rajasthan will be looking to sign him up to partner Jofra Archer in that stage of an innings.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - CV Varun

CV Varun

For those who are not aware of who CV Varun is, he is a mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu and was the find of the 2018 Tamil Nadu Premier League in which he was one of the main reasons why his team, Siechem Madurai Panthers won the tournament. He was called up by his state side after his heroics in the TNPL and set the 2018 Vijay Hazare Trophy on fire as he ended the tournament as the second highest wicket-taker with 22 wickets in nine matches at an average of 16.6 and an economy of 4.23.

He is expected to cause a bidding war in the upcoming IPL auction and one of the teams that will look to snap him up is Royal Challengers Bangalore. Spearheaded by Yuzvendra Chahal, RCB's spin bowling options to assist the leggie are Washington Sundar and Pawan Negi. Varun has a lot of variations up his sleeves and can trouble the batsmen with his mystery. If used well, he could be a proven match-winner for RCB.

Sunrisers Hyderabad - Axar Patel

Axar Patel

Sunrisers Hyderabad is one unit that has always emphasized on having a quality bowling attack. They have some of the best T20 pacers in the side and in the spin department, they have arguably the world's best white-ball spinner Rashid Khan in their ranks.

With the arrival of David Warner, Rashid's partner-in-crime in the spin department, Shakib-al-Hasan might have to miss out from the playing XI and in that case, Sunrisers might need a supporting cast for the Afghan international.

So, Sunrisers' priority in the auction will be is to find an experienced Indian spinner to partner Rashid and looking at the options available, there is no one better than Axar Patel for that role. Axar Patel is a proper utility player teams will look to have in their side in the format as he is a good bowler who can bowl four decent overs in every outing and apart from that, he can be a handy batsman coming down the order and a fantastic fielder.