IPL auction 2018: Things teams need to do on day 2 

Day 1 at the IPL auction 2018 was exciting and teams have tried to cover all bases.

There were few surprises as well. While players like Ben Stokes, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey were expected to get the amount of money that they did, the likes of Chris Gayle, Joe Root going unsold turned a lot of heads. Overall, teams have a basic structure ready.

Teams have decided whom to put their money on, and have bought players they wanted to, but they still have certain gaps to fill. Most of the international players are bought by the teams but many domestic players are still to be presented at the auction. Teams also have the option of getting unsold players back in the auction. So, players like Joe Root, Lasith Malinga and Chris Gayle can still find some buyers.

Let's try to predict what teams might do on day two at the auctions.

1. Chennai Superkings

Retained players

MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja

Players bought

Faf du Plessis (RTM card), Harbhajan Singh, Dwyane Bravo (RTM card), Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Imran Tahir

Bravo is one of the most loved players of CSK

CSK had a huge task of getting the team's core back. They managed to do so to a certain extent, except for Ashwin, who was snapped by Kings XI Punjab. But in that process, they might have built a squad whose average age is on the higher side. Their focus was on all-rounders. They had already retained Jadeja before the auctions. Today they used their RTM card to get back Dwyane Bravo, while they bought the likes of Shane Watson, Karn Sharma and Kedar Jadhav.

There was a conscious effort of getting spinners in their side. They already have four spinners, who can start in the playing XI. This strategy indicates that the pitches in Chennai are going to be on a slower side this year.

Things they need to do on day 2 - CSK will need fast bowlers, especially when playing away from home. They might look to get some young Indian fast bowlers in their side. Apart from this, they might look to get a few opening batsmen, as right now they have only Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson who can open.

2. Mumbai Indians

Retained players

Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah

Players bought

Kieron Pollard (RTM card), Mustafizur Rahman, Pat Cummins, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya (RTM card), Ishan Kishan

Krunal is back for the Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians were very cautious in the bidding process on day one and that's the reason they have bought only nine players. Probably they were saving money for retaining Krunal Pandya. They used their RTM cards on Krunal and Pollard and let go experienced players like Harbhajan, Malinga and Rayudu. They did manage to buy some important players like Pat Cummins and Mustafizur Rahman, thus forming a strong pace attack. They surprised a few people by bidding aggressively for former India U19 Captain Ishan Kishan. It will be interesting to see how this move works out. They seemed happy with their choices on day one but they will need to buy some more players to complete their squad.

Things they need to do on day 2 - While they have built a strong core for their team, they need to buy a few players to form a strong bench-strength. They need to buy a few top order batsmen. They also need to buy spinners as they only have Krunal Pandya to fit in that role. They also need pacers to support Bumrah, Cummins and Mustafizur.

3. Kolkata Knight Riders

Retained players

Sunil Narine, Andrew Russell

Players bought

Mitchell Starc, Chris Lynn, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa (RTM card), Piyush Chawla (RTM card), Kuldeep Yadav (RTM card), Shubman Gill, Ishank Jaggi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Nitish Rana

KKR ended their association with Gautam Gambhir

KKR surprised everyone with their tactics. They didn’t retain Gambhir or Pandey, both of whom have been spectacular for them. In the first half of the auctions on day one, they didn’t buy any Indian player. Though they retained Uthappa, Chawla and Kuldeep in the later half, they looked uncertain with their bidding. They bought only four foreign players, but those four players are almost certain to start in the playing XI. They also bought young exciting talents like Shubman Gill and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, who have impressed everyone in the ongoing U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. By buying Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana and Ishank Jaggi, they have made sure that they have strong batting reserves.

Things they need to do on day 2 - They don't have any fast bowler in their squad (except for young Nagarkoti), so they will need to address that issue on day two of the auction. They also need to buy some overseas players, just in case their first choice overseas players aren't available or are injured.

4. Royal Challengers Bangalore

Retained players

Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan

Players bought

Brendon McCullum, Chris Woakes, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Quinton de Kock, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal (RTM card), Manan Vohra, Kulwant Khejroliya, Aniket Choudhary, Navdeep Saini

Chahal has been Kohli's go-to bowler

Like CSK, RCB also did aggressive bidding on all-rounders. They bought Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Colin de Grandhomme. Their batting looks sorted out with players like Kohli, de Villiers, McCullum and de Kock in their ranks. They also bought a lot of Indian pacers, an area they have struggled with in the past. One area of concern for them is that how are they going to fit all these players in the playing XI. They have bought three opening opening batsmen, de Kock, McCullum and Manan Vohra, also Kohli backs himself as an opener in T20 cricket. So it is going to be difficult to accumulate four openers in the playing XI. Also it will be difficult to play three overseas all-rounders in the playing XI. If they sort out a few issues, they can build a strong side.

Things they need to do on day 2 - They rightly retained Chahal on day one, but they need few more spinners to support him. They also need few good Indian middle order players and couple of overseas fast bowling players.

5. Delhi Daredevils

Retained players

Rishabh Pant, Chris Morris, Shreyas Iyer

Players bought

Glenn Maxwell, Gautam Gambhir, Jason Roy, Colin Munro, Mohammad Shami (RTM card), Kagiso Rabada (RTM card), Amit Mishra, Prithvi Shaw, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan

Daredevils reinstated their faith in Rabada by using RTM card to get him back

The Daredevils were one of the most active bidders on day one of the auction. They bought a variety of players, covering almost every base. They have struggled to find a stable captain in the last couple of seasons, and this was a major reason for them not doing well. But this year they have taken care of it by buying the ever dependable Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir started his IPL career with the Daredevils and he is back in the side after a gap of seven years. They have formed a strong pace attack by using RTM cards on Rabada and Shami. They bought T20 specialists like Maxwell, Roy and Munro. Apart from this, they also got some good Indian players like Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar and current U19 captain, Prithvi Shaw.

Things they need to do on day 2 - Daredevils have been excellent in the auction and they have very few gaps to fill in. They might have to buy a few spinners to accompany the experienced Amit Mishra in the spin department.

6. Sunrisers Hyderabad

Retained players

David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Players bought

Shikhar Dhawan (RTM card), Shakib Al Hasan, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Carlos Braithwaite, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha, Rashid Khan (RTM card), Ricky Bhui, Deepak Hooda (RTM card), Siddharth Kaul, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi, Khaleel Ahmed

Sunrisers were able to get back Rashid Khan

Sunrisers Hyderabad had a decent day at the auction. They were not only able to buy back most of their players from last season, but they also bought new players with proven T20 records. They got back Dhawan, Hooda and Rashid Khan using RTM cards, while they also bought back Kane Williamson and Siddharth Kaul who were very effective for them last year. Manish Pandey was their biggest buy of the day. The former KKR batsman was one of the most sought after players at the auction and SRH bid aggressively to get him on board. They also bought handy T20 all-rounders in the form of Carlos Braithwaite and Shakib Al Hasan. In the last round of the auctions, they bought some young Indian fast bowlers making it a perfect day for themselves.

Things they need to do on day 2 - Day 2 for SRH is going to be all about building a strong bench-strength. They would look to buy a few overseas fast bowlers and few Indian spinners to provide support to Rashid Khan.

7. Rajasthan Royals

Retained players

Steven Smith

Players bought

Ben Stokes, Ajinkya Rahane (RTM card), Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson(RTM card), Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Rahul Tripathi, D'Arcy Short, Jofra Archer

Is Jofra Archer 'the next big thing' in the IPL ?

The Royals used their money judiciously, as they bought only nine players on day one. Among those nine players is Ben Stokes, who became the most expensive player yet again. They also used their RTM card to get back Ajinkya Rahane. Buying Rahane for 4 crores is arguably the steal of this year's auction. They also got back former Royals like Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson. In Jos Buttler they have bought a strong middle order batsman. They have taken a huge risk in putting big bucks on Darcy Short and Jofra Archer. Both of these players are having a spectacular BBL and the Royals will want them to replicate it in the IPL.

Things they need to do on day 2 - Rajasthan Royals are expected to buy a lot of players on day two. And as they have done all these years, they will want to unearth the unknown. They are known to promote young Indian talent and they will have the luxury to do so on day 2. They need players in all the departments and all eyes will be on the Royals to surprise us again.

8. Kings XI Punjab

Retained players

Axar Patel

Players bought

Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, David Miller(RTM card) , Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis (RTM card), Mayank Agarwal, Ankit Rajpoot

Kings XI fans will be happy to see Yuvraj back in the team after seven years

Right from the word go Kings XI were on the money. They bid for almost everything that came along. They had some successful bids in the first half of the day, but were denied by other franchises who used their RTM cards to buy back players who were bought by the Kings. But this didn’t deter the Kings. They continued bidding and bought some real good players. Ashwin, KL Rahul, Finch and Nair were bought by the Kings in this phase. All these players have proved themselves in T20 format and will look to do so for the Kings as well. They also used their RTM cards smartly, by buying David Miller and Marcus Stoinis, both of whom have performed exceedingly well for their national sides off late. They also bought back the local boy Yuvraj Singh, who will be back with the franchise he once captained.

Things they need to do on day 2 - Even after bidding all day, the Kings only have ten players in the squad. They still have a huge amount of money left and they will look to buy overseas players, as they only have three overseas players at the end day 1. They also need some fast bowlers, both Indian and overseas. And they need some batsmen to beef up their batting, along with a wicket-keeper.