IPL Auction 2018: Delhi Daredevils' (DD) performance at the auctions

The two-day IPL auction has concluded and the games can now begin. The official countdown for the IPL can definitely commence now as the squads are filled and the quest for the title shall begin 69 days from today.

The Delhi based franchise was the first in the lot to reach the 25 player mark(maximum players) in the IPL Auctions 2018. They spent a total of 78.4 Crores in building a powerful squad and 45.4 Crores alone at the two-day auctions.

A compact and complete squad for the IPL 2018

Day One

From a top-quality opener in Colin Munro to match-winners in Maxwell and Pant to all-around capabilities of Chris Morris to a wise spinner in Mishra to a supreme leader in Gautam Gambhir, the Delhi Daredevils squad has got it all. On the first day of the auction, the Daredevils management was on the hunt for an experienced skipper and bagged the veteran and two-time IPL winner Gambhir for a mere 2.8 Crores. Amongst the marquee players, they fought hard to clinch the deal for swashbuckling Aussie Maxwell for 9 Crores but smartly stole players like Colin Munro and Jason Roy within the 2 Crores bracket.

The Right To Match card came in handy for the Daredevils camp as it gave them the luxury to retain one of the most talented bowlers - Kagiso Rabada - and also retain the likes of experienced Indian pacer Mohammed Shami for 4.2 Crores and 3 Crores respectively. In addition to the quick bowlers, DD bought massively experienced leg-spinner Amit Mishra who is extremely familiar with the conditions on offer at the Feroz Shah Kotla after having plied his trade for Delhi for more than 5 years in his long IPL Career. They auctioned a total of 14 players at the end of the first day and had announced that Gambhir will captain them for the eleventh edition of the IPL.

Day Two

After making some of the top picks on the first day, the Delhi based camp was deficient in three areas - depth in their squad, a left-arm bowler and experienced alternatives to their middle order. Well, the Daredevils management precisely addressed the same as they aggressively bid for left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem to fend off any interest from the RCB. In addition to this, they added Trent Boult for 2.2 Crores who could be a proficient alternative to Rabada in the shortest format of the game.

Targeting the current crop of India Under 19 stars, DD chose to bid for the fierce pacer Shivam Mavi but couldn't compete with KKR as he was sold for a whopping 3 Crores. However, they managed to land opener Manjot Kalra and skilful all-rounder Abhishek Sharma for decent amounts.

But history was made when DD bought 17-year old off-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane for his base price of 20 lacs as he became the first-ever player from Nepal to represent a team in the IPL. The DD team were in the hunt for all-rounders and bagged the Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian 1.5 Crores and also added Gurkeerat Mann along with Jayant Yadav for good money. The accelerated round witnessed Delhi lunge for a backup wicketkeeper in Naman Ojha for 1.4 Crores to reach the maximum squad limit of 25 players.

In the 11th edition of the IPL, the Daredevils begin their journey against the KXIP on 8th of April and will be aiming for their maiden triumph under the captaincy of the experienced crowd-favourite Gambhir and Aussie legend Ricky Ponting at the coaching helm. The squad now consists of a perfect blend of youth and veterans and finding the right balance could probably turn the decade-long title dreams into reality.

Delhi Daredevils squad

Gautam Gambhir (2.8 Cr), Rishabh Pant (Retained), Chris Morris (Retained), Shreyas Iyer (Retained), Glenn Maxwell (9 Cr), Jason Roy (1.5 Cr), Colin Munro (1.9 Cr), Mohammed Shami (3 Cr), Kagiso Rabada (4.2 Cr), Amit Mishra (4 Cr), Prithvi Shaw (1.2 Cr), Rahul Tewatia (3 Cr), Daniel Christian (1.5 Cr), Jayant Yadav (50 Lacs), Gurkeerat Mann (75 Lacs), Trent Boult (2.2 Cr), Manjot Kalra (20 Lacs), Abhishek Sharma (55 Lacs), Sandeep Lamichhane (20 Lacs), Naman Ojha (1.4 Cr), Sayan Ghosh (20 Lacs), Avesh Khan (70 Lacs), Harshal Patel (20 Lacs), Vijay Shankar (3.2 Cr), Shahbaz Nadeem (3.2 Cr).