KPL 2018 auction: Full list of updated squads and team analysis

Ballari Tuskers

Cm Gautam's form will be vital for Ballari

Team: CM Gautam (R), Abhinav Manohar (R), Devdutt Paddikal (R), Rohan Kadam (R), T Pradeep, Abrar Kazi, Swapnil Yelave, SL Akshay, Ritesh Bhatkal, Chiranjeevi, D Nischal, Satish Bharadwaj, C A Karthik, Rajat Hegde, Manjesh Reddy NV, Rohit Sabharwal.

The Tuskers seemed to have gone into the auctions with a clear strategy in mind, which was to strengthen their bowling unit having retained a quartet of batsmen through C.M Gautam, Abhinav Manohar, Rohan Kadam and teenage sensation Devdutt Paddikkal.

For what it was worth, the Tuskers managed to procure some excellent bowling talent in the form of pacer T Pradeep (₹6.5 lakh) who finished as the third highest wicket-taker last season, S.L Akshay (₹2.2 lakh) and seasoned left-arm spinner Abrar Kazi (₹3.5 lakh). Joining Kazi will also be Ritesh Bhatkal (₹1.7 lakh) who will hope to share the spinning duties. Dega Nischal, who has contributed in vital proportions in the domestic scenario can also prove to be a promising addition to the batting order.

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Bijapur Bulls

Bijapur will hope to go past the final hurdle in the upcoming season

Team: Bharath Chipli (R), Ronit More (R), Naveen MG (R), KC Cariappa (R), Mir Kaunian Abbas, KP Appanna, Suneel Raju, Naga Bharath, Zahoor Farooqui, Suraj Kamath, Rishab Singh, Bhavesh Gulecha, Anuraj Bajpai, KL Srijith, Amar Ghale, Majid Makkandar, Ruthraj.

Having let go of top batters Mohanram Nidish and Mohammad Taha, the Bulls opted to retain talismanic skipper Bharath Chipli, their second highest run-getter from the previous edition while pacers Ronit More and Naveen MG's services were retained alongside that of mystery spinner KC Cariappa.

In an approach to add more teeth to their middle order, the 2017 edition's finalists buy of Mir Kaunian Abbas and Suneel Raju can help stabilize the middle order in the company of Naga Bharath, who had a good outing with the Panthers last season with 121 runs from eight matches.

KP Appanna, the left arm orthodox spinner who has acres of experience under his belt was purchased for a sum of ₹3.85 lakh and his bag of tricks will be vital for the Bulls who will also bank on medium pacer Zahoor Farooqui to continue from where he left off last season when he picked seven wickets from five games.