IPL 2021: Rating the trades that have happened so far

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) held in the United Arab Emirates was a major success, with the Mumbai Indians adding another trophy to their impressive collection.

IPL 2021, which is expected to be held in the usual April-May window, will headline the year's cricketing calendar. Teams have begun preparing for the tournament, and the trade window is currently open. Franchises like the Chennai Super Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore have already made additions to their rosters.

Ahead of the IPL 2021 auction, we take a look at the trades that have transpired so far and rate each move out of 10.

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#3 Robin Uthappa (RR to CSK for IPL 2021) - 3/10

Robin Uthappa is 35 years old

In a move that shocked cricket fans everywhere, experienced Indian batsman Robin Uthappa was traded to the Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing IPL 2021 trade window. The Men in Yellow, who finished a lowly 7th last season, were expected to transition to a more youthful side.

This is why the move for Uthappa, who is 35 years old, came as a surprise. Moreover, the burly right-hander has scored only a combined 478 runs in his last two IPL seasons. In IPL 2020, he managed 196 runs at an average of 16.33 and a strike rate of 119.51 for the Rajasthan Royals.

Uthappa certainly isn't a long-term option for CSK, who are likely looking to replace the retired Shane Watson at the top of the order. He has mostly been used in the middle order during his IPL dry patch, and has showed promise while opening the batting.

But although Uthappa's veteran leadership and calm nature fits into the culture that CSK have built of late, the trade doesn't make sense. MS Dhoni has experienced the pitfalls of having ageing batsmen like Kedar Jadhav and Murali Vijay, and Uthappa wouldn't do much to improve CSK's poor fielding unit as well.

With Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis expected to form the opening combination, and Suresh Raina set to return to the side, it remains to be seen if Uthappa will make any sort of impact at CSK.

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#2 Daniel Sams (DC to RCB for IPL 2021) - 4.5/10

Daniel Sams [L] has made his way to Virat Kohli's RCB along with Harshal Patel [R]

Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore released a number of overseas players like Aaron Finch, Isuru Udana, Chris Morris, Moeen Ali and Dale Steyn. They then pulled off a two-player trade with the Delhi Capitals, acquiring the services of Australian left-armer Daniel Sams and Indian all-rounder Harshal Patel.

RCB have been plagued by poor death bowling for a number of years, and in the Big Bash League, Sams has been excellent in that department. However, the 28-year-old was thoroughly unimpressive in IPL 2020 as he went wicketless in 3 games and leaked runs at an economy rate of 9.5.

While Sams is a valuable cricketer on paper with his fielding and useful lower-order batting, he isn't the type of match-winner with the ball RCB so desperately need. The pace attack looks a bit thin, but Sams might not be able to justify taking up an overseas slot.

Sams is a cricketer similar to Udana, whose spell at the 3-time IPL finalists didn't go to plan. He is primed to go down the same path, but if he is able to nail his yorkers and slower balls, he could turn into a handy player for RCB.

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#1 Harshal Patel (DC to RCB for IPL 2021) - 7/10

Harshal Patel has played for RCB in the past

In IPL 2020, the Delhi Capitals struggled to find a third pacer to complement Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada. One of the players they tried was Harshal Patel, who picked up only 3 wickets in 5 games at an economy rate of 8.93.

The Haryana captain has represented RCB in the past, having made his IPL debut in 2012 for the side and playing for them till 2017. Patel had his breakthrough campaign in 2015 in which he scalped 17 wickets in 15 games at an economy rate of 7.48. He has failed to capitalise on those performances, and has gotten no more than 5 games a season in each of the following 5 years.

However, Patel is certainly a smart addition to the RCB roster. Kohli's men released Umesh Yadav ahead of the IPL 2021 auction, and the 30-year-old is arguably an upgrade. He could provide competition to Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj for the Indian pacer slots, and his batting could even give him the edge over the other two.

Patel has been supremely consistent in both departments for his state in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and if given a larger role at an IPL team, there's no reason why he can't contribute heavily.