IPL Auction 2020: 3 teams who will be looking to sign fast bowlers 

Being a fast bowler is one of the most challenging tasks in T20 cricket. They're expected to pick wickets with the new ball -- when batsmen want to take advantage of the powerplays -- and at the death -- when batsmen are at their aggressive best. This is why it has become extremely vital for teams to have quality pacers in their squads.

Indian Premier League teams have understood this and have focused on having skillful fast bowlers who can bowl effectively with the new ball as well as in the death. While it is important to have bowlers who can bowl with control, it is equally important to have attacking bowlers who are wicket-takers. Every team wants a balanced pace-attack. Also, as fast bowlers are more susceptible to injuries and teams should make sure that they have enough backup options.

A lot of teams failed last season due to underperforming pace attack and have released a lot of fast bowlers this time around. Here are three teams that will need to sign fast bowlers at the auction to make up for the release of fast bowlers.

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#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Dale Steyn wasn't retained by RCB.

Squad: AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Gurkeerat Singh, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Parthiv Patel, Pawan Negi, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal.

After last season's debacle, Royal Challengers Bangalore released as many as 12 players, of which four were fast bowlers. While they retained their faith in Indian pacers Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj, they axed overseas pacers Tim Southee, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Dale Steyn. Even though they have retained the Indian lot, RCB will be worried about their pace department as except for Navdeep Saini none of the pacers were able to make an impression last season. This means buying fast bowlers will be one of their top priorities at the auction.

Also see – World Test Championship points table

#2 Kings XI Punjab

Shami lacked support from his fellow fast bowlers last season

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.

Just like RCB, Kings XI Punjab were let down by their pacers. While Mohammed Shami kept chipping away with the wickets for the Kings, he did not get adequate support from the other end. Kings' expensive buy Sam Curran failed to perform consistently while Andrew Tye, who was the purple cap holder in IPL 2018, looked completely out of sorts. Both these overseas pacers were dropped on the virtue of their poor form. Thus, KXIP will need reinforcement in the pace department. While they will have their eyes on the local fast bowlers, they will also need to buy some experienced overseas names. KXIP has the largest purse remaining among all teams which will give them an advantage over other teams at the auction.

#1 Rajasthan Royals

Royals' bowling was a big let down in IPL 2019

Squad: Ankit Rajpoot, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Steven Smith, Varun Aaron.

Rajasthan Royals' lack of depth in the pace department was brutally exposed in IPL 2019. While Jofra Archer bowled brilliantly for the Royals, the Indian contingent failed to take responsibility. Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni and Varun Aaron were taken apart by the opposition batsmen which made life difficult for the Royals management. And it was perhaps a major reason for their poor performance last season. They traded in Uttar Pradesh pacer Aniket Rajpoot from Kings XI Punjab while trading out Dhawal Kulkarni to Mumbai Indians and released Jaydev Unadkat which means they effectively have just three frontline fast bowlers.

Considering the fact that the Royals have the likes of Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer in the squad, it might be difficult to accommodate any other overseas player in the playing XI and thus Royals will have to concentrate on Indian pacers at the auction.