IPL Auction 2019: Top 3 well-balanced squads

With the conclusion of the 2019 IPL Player Auction, all franchises have built their strongest possible squads for the popular T20 tournament. While most selections were on expected lines, there were also quite a few surprises as uncapped players earned big money.

Alongside Jaydev Unadkat, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy from Tamil Nadu fetched the highest amount of INR 8.4 crores in the event. As far as overseas players are concerned, Sam Curran created a flutter by going for INR 7.2 crores.

All teams are looking good on paper after the auction. However, the following three teams have assembled the strongest of all squads when compared to the rest.

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#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB is one of the few teams who haven't won the IPL title yet. Despite possessing great players, they haven't been able achieve the expected results. Their batting has always been excellent but their bowling was always their weak link in previous seasons. But this time their bowling is also looking strong alongside their batting.

Before the auction, RCB had traded Mandeep Singh for Marcus Stoinis while they had released Quinton de Kock, Chris Woakes, Sarfraz Khan, Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson from their squad.

RCB had a good time in the IPL Auction 2019. They have made some good buys by picking up players like Shimron Hetmyer, Shivam Dube and Heinrich Klaasen in the auction.

As far as RCB's squad is concerned their squad is looking well balanced for the upcoming season. Their batting department is looking very explosive as they have some very good batsmen like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer, Moeen Ali, Marcus Stoinis, Colin de Grandhomme in the squad. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers will be their main batsmen this season.

This season RCB's biggest strength will be their all-rounders. They have some very good all-rounders like Marcus Stoinis, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Akshdeep Nath, Gurkeerat Singh, Pawan Negi and Washington Sundar. These all-rounders will be very crucial for them if they want to win the title this time around.

Nathan Coulter-Nile will be available for this season which will provide a much needed boost to their bowling attack. Last season, Umesh Yadav was exceptional with the new ball so they'll expect him to repeat the same this time as well.

Mohammad Siraj had also bowled well in the last season. In addition to this they've some good fast bowlers like Tim Southee, Navdeep Saini, Marcus Stoinis. While Yuzvendra Chahal will be their main spinner who will be assisted by Washington Sundar, Moeen Ali and Pawan Negi.

Full Squad

Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Colin de Grandhomme, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Dube, Heinrich Klassen, Gurkeerat Singh, Himmat Singh, Prayas Ray Barman

Traded

Marcus Stoinis from Kings XI Punjab

Players Bought in Auction

Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Dube, Heinrich Klassen, Gurkeerat Singh, Himmat Singh, Prayas Ray Barman

#2 Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians

Alongside CSK, Mumbai Indians are one of the most successful teams in the IPL. However, in the last season, they haven't performed according to their reputation and finished at number 5 in the group stage.

Mumbai Indians had traded Quinton de Kock from RCB and Jayant Yadav from Delhi Capitals in the trade window, while they had released Saurabh Tiwary, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohsin Khan, MD Nidheesh, Sharad Lumba, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, JP Duminy, Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman and Akila Dananjaya from their squad.

Mumbai Indians bought six players in the auction. They surprised everyone by picking up Yuvraj Singh at his base price of Rs 1 crore. Left arm pacer Barinder Sran was their biggest buy of Rs 3.4 crore. In addition to this they've also bought Lasith Malinga, Anmolpreet Singh, Rasikh Salam and Pankaj Jaiswal.

As always MI's squad is looking quite good on paper. Their batting department looks solid. They have some very good batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Evin Lewis, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Iashan Kishan and Yuvraj Singh. Their captain Rohit Sharma will be their most important batsman in the upcoming edition of IPL.

Mumbai Indians have an array of hard hitting all-rounders in Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ben Cutting and Kieron Pollard. So MI will expect these four to contribute in all the three departments.

Their bowling department looks promising as well. They've some very good fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Jason Behrendroff, Adam Milne and Barinder Sran in their squad.

As far as their spin department is concerned, it looks a little bit inexperienced. Mumbai possess Krunal Pandya, Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar, Anukul Roy and Jayant Yadav in their spin department. Last season Mayank Markande emerged as a surprise package and performed exceedingly well. So Mumbai Indians will expect him to repeat the same in this season as well.

Full Squad

Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar, Anukul Roy, Siddhesh Lad, Aditya Tare, Quinton de Kock, Evin Lewis, Kieron Pollard, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff, Yuvraj Singh, Lasith Malinga, Anmolpreet Singh, Rasikh Salam, Barinder Sran, Pankaj Jaiswal and Jayant Yadav

Traded

Quinton de Kock from RCB and Jayant Yadav from Delhi Capitals

Players Bought in Auction

Yuvraj Singh, Lasith Malinga, Anmolpreet Singh, Rasikh Salam, Barinder Sran and Pankaj Jaiswal.

#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad

SRH are the runners-up of the last season. Last season, the Kane Williamson-led side performed exceedingly well in the absence of their usual captain David Warner. The Australian batsman's return should make them even more stronger in the 2019 season. It will be interesting to see who will lead the side next year.

Hyderabad traded Shikhar Dhawan for Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar and Shahbaz Nadeem.

During the auction, SRH made some valuable addition to their squad by bringing in Wriddhiman Saha, Johnny Bairstow and Martin Guptill.

Their squad is looking perfect on paper. Last season their batting was a bit weak but the return of David Warner will surely strengthen their batting. Kane Williamson was the top scorer of last season so they'll expect him to perform in this season as well. While Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Deepak Hooda will be their other main batsmen.

The Sunrisers possess arguably the best bowling attack of tournament. They have reliable fast bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Billy Stanlake, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Basil Thampi and Khaleel Ahmed. Rashid Khan and Shakib Al Hasan will be key for them in the spin department. The addition of Shahbaz Nadeem will make their spin department even more strong.

Full Squad

Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Hooda, Manish Pandey, T Natarajan, Ricky Bhui, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Khaleel Ahmed, Yusuf Pathan, Billy Stanlake, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Shakib Al Hasan, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Martin Guptill

Traded

Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar and Shahbaz Nadeem from Delhi Capitals

Players Bought in Auction

Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Martin Guptill