IPL 2021: Rating the auction business of all 8 teams

#4 Chennai Super Kings - 7/10

CSK skipper MS Dhoni [R]

Bought Players: Moeen Ali, Krishnappa Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Harisankar Reddy, K Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth

Traded Players: Robin Uthappa

CSK had roster spots to fill in the IPL 2021 auction, and they took a rather unconvential route by picking three youngsters. Otherwise, the experienced quartet of Pujara, Ali, Gowtham and Uthappa made their way to the franchise.

CSK fixed their off-spin woes by signing Ali and Gowtham, and caused a cheer in the IPL 2021 auction room by bidding for Pujara. Overall, they plugged the only hole in the squad, which looks good on paper.

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#3 Mumbai Indians - 7.5/10

MI skipper Rohit Sharma

Bought Players: Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Marco Jansen, Yudhvir Singh, James Neesham, Arjun Tendulkar

MI had another solid auction, and somehow strengthened their roster even further.

The signing of Chawla boosted the spin department, which was perhaps the only semblance of a weak link. The all-rounder trio of Coulter-Nile, Neesham and Jansen add great depth and competitiveness to the squad. Milne gives MI the opportunity to field an express pacer.

Overall, MI will be happy with their involvement in the IPL 2021 auction.

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#2 Kolkata Knight Riders - 8/10

KKR skipper Eoin Morgan

Bought Players: Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi

KKR pulled off arguably the steal of the auction with the purchase of Shakib, who has now been given an NOC by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Barring a top-quality Indian batsman, the team management achieved every objective they set out to.

Sunil Narine and Andre Russell now have adequate backups, while Harbhajan's signing adds a new dimension to the already strong spin attack. Having signed a few domestic stars as well, KKR had an excellent IPL 2021 auction.

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#1 Delhi Capitals - 8/10

DC skipper Rishabh Pant

Bought Players: Steve Smith, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Umesh Yadav, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddharth

Another team who played their cards brilliantly in the IPL 2021 auction, DC walked away satisfied. Steve Smith was an absolute steal at his price, and the unfortunate injury to Iyer means that the Aussie might be one of the team's most important players.

Tom Curran will provide backup to Stoinis and Woakes, while Umesh Yadav - one of the few IPL-tested Indian pacers in the 2021 auction - was another smart purchase. DC also acquired a backup keeper in Billings, and were without doubt one of the most canny franchises in the IPL 2021 auction.