IPL Auction 2020: 3 teams that will be looking to sign all-rounders 

All-rounders are extremely important for a side to be successful in any format, but even more so in T20 cricket. Players who can contribute with both bat and ball are always considered to be assets for a T20 team.

Not surprisingly, all-rounders have always been in demand in the IPL. Teams have put in big bucks to rope in quality all-rounders from around the world; every successful IPL team has had match-winning all-rounders in their side. Needless to say, the expectations from all-rounders are also massive.

Last season, a couple of IPL teams struggled due to lack of all-rounders in the side, and they will look to plug that gap at the auction this time around. Here are three teams that will likely target all-rounders at the auction.

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#3 Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings

Squad: Ambati Rayudu , KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Jagadeesan Narayan, Karn Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Monu Singh, MS Dhoni, M Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shane Watson, Shardul Thakur, Suresh Raina

On paper, Chennai Super Kings have two match-winning all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja. However, the performance of both these players the last couple of years hasn't been up to the mark.

While Jadeja has been steady with the ball, he has never been a match-winner with the bat in the league. His IPL strike-rate of 122.58 just isn't good enough for a batsman batting at the 7-8 position. Bravo meanwhile scored just 80 runs in 12 games in IPL 2019 for CSK.

Thus, CSK will need to find a batting all-rounder who can score quick runs in the death overs. They might target players like Jimmy Neesham and Dasun Shanaka at the auction. Both these all-rounders have been in red-hot form for their respective national sides lately and will boost CSK's batting.

#2 Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab

Squad: Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Darshan Nalkande, K Gowtham, Hardus Viljoen, Harpreet Brar, Jagadeesha Suchith, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahman, M Ashwin, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan

One of the biggest reasons for Kings XI Punjab's dismal performance in IPL 2019 was their inability to find the right playing combination. The lack of all-rounders proved extremely costly for the Kings XI as they often found themselves being either a batsman short or a bowler short.

Sam Curran was inconsistent while Moses Henriques got injured midway through the tournament. Both of these players have now been released by the franchise.

The new team management has tried to address the issue by trading in K Gowtham. However, they will need to also rope in someone like Carlos Brathwaite, who can provide fire-power with the bat and an extra option with the ball.

#1 Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals

Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Sandeep Lamichhane, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer

Delhi Capitals had a reasonably successful season in IPL 2019, where they managed to reach the playoffs after a long time. It was mostly Delhi's dynamic batting or their well-balanced bowling attack that won games for the team.

Delhi did have an array of all-rounders in Chris Morris, Colin Munro, Sherfane Rutherford and Axar Patel at their disposal, but none of them were able to do justice to that role. That means the Capitals will need to address this key issue at the auction.

The Capitals lost some crucial games due to the lack of power-hitters in the death overs. Thus, they might look to get in players like Carlos Brathwaite or Jimmy Neesham, who can change the course of the match with their big-hitting and provide an extra bowling option with the ball.