With the mini-auction for the 2023 edition of the Indian T20 League scheduled next month in Kochi, all 10 teams in the league are gearing up to shape their teams for the tournament. All franchises published their retention and release lists last week with no major surprises barring a few.
Of the 248 players already attached to a franchise last season, 163 will continue to play for the same team while 85 players have been released and will have to wait for the mini-auction to chart their future course.
With reports of many international stars giving the next edition of the Indian T20 League a miss and some new entrants, let’s take a look at where the teams stand before the mini-auction.
Team Chennai
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will once again lead Team Chennai in what is likely to be his last season in the Indian T20 League. With the tournament returning to the home stadiums of the franchises, Dhoni will be keen to finish his career on a high note in front of the Chennai crowd.
Team Chennai has also retained some core players of the team like Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, and Moeen Ali. But the biggest surprise has been the release of their long-time all-rounder Dwayne Bravo once again, and it remains to be seen if they will buy him back at the auction like last year.
With two overseas slots remaining and a purse of INR 20.45 crores, Team Chennai are likely to bring in fresh talent to improve their performance from last season where they finished ninth in the table.
Team Bangalore
Perhaps the most-settled squad in the Indian T20 League, Team Bangalore are likely to be the least active franchise in the mini-auction. They released just five players from their squad – none of them played regularly for the team in the past. As a result, they have the second least purse in the auction – INR 8.75 Crores.
With Faf du Plessis now leading the team, Virat Kohli is likely to dominate the league once again with the bat as an opener.
Perhaps the only thing Team Bangalore lack is a genuine all-rounder and Team Bangalore will look to fill that gap during the auction.
While Ben Stokes and Cameron Green might see competitive bidding and might go out of reach, Jason Holder seems to be a strong pick to fill up one of the two available overseas slots.
Team Mumbai
Team Mumbai have decided to rebuild their team from the scratch after a disastrous last season and decided to let go of most of their team except a select few players.
While Rohit Sharma will lead the team once more, his lack of form in the shortest format of the game might pose a challenge for the franchise in the future. Suryakumar Yadav is in the form of his life and will be a major factor in the team’s fortunes this season.
Team Mumbai have let go of Kieron Pollard, and hence need a strong finisher to complete their batting lineup. With a purse of INR 20.55 Crores, Team Mumbai are in a position to shell out the big bucks.
They would certainly look at Ben Stokes but also need to be mindful of their spending as they need to rebuild their entire bowling unit around Jasprit Bumrah after their recent purge.
Team Hyderabad
Perhaps the team with the most stakes in the auction, Team Hyderabad has purged their team of almost all its key players.
Team Hyderabad’s woes were unending last season when they crashed and burned their way to an eighth-place finish. While the team lost both David Warner and Rashid Khan last season itself, it decided to release its only core player left – their skipper Kane Williamson.
It is still unclear who will lead the team next season, but with a purse of INR 42.25 Crores, Team Hyderabad have the best chance of picking up high-profile names at the auction. Otherwise, the captaincy is likely to fall to Aiden Markram’s hands. With the highest purse going into the mini-auction, Team Hyderabad are going to be a completely different team by the next season.
Team Gujarat
Hardik Pandya-led Team Gujarat have decided to make minimal changes to the team ahead of the auction, retaining all their core players. Lockie Ferguson has been traded to Team Kolkata ahead of the auction, giving Team Gujarat a healthy purse of INR 19.25 crores. With an almost complete squad, Team Gujarat have no major requirements in the auction and are likely to look for the best deals to pick up youngsters as backup to their main squad.
Team Delhi
Team Delhi have also decided to retain most of their squad, with only Shardul Thakur leaving the club on a transfer to Team Kolkata. With David Warner and Prithvi Shaw opening with the bat, Team Delhi have adequate firepower in their lineup.
They have a healthy purse of INR 19.45 crores heading into the auction and will be looking for young domestic talent to fill their ranks.
Team Kolkata
Team Kolkata have taken full advantage of the transfer window – inducting three players even before the auction began. But they also released a whopping 16 players from their squad, including the likes of Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch and Ajinkya Rahane. The team now has just 14 players and looks very incomplete – with gaps in almost all departments.
With a purse of just INR 7.05 crores and plenty of spots to fill, Team Kolkata might not have enough money to induct talent for the next season. They are placing big bets on Lockie Ferguson and Shardul Thakur, and it remains to be seen if those bets pay off.
Team Lucknow
Team Lucknow have decided to let go of most of their overseas players for their second season, with the likes of Jason Holder, Andrew Tye, Evin Lewis and Dushmantha Chameera being shown the door. KL Rahul will once again lead the new team, with Deepak Hooda, Quinto de Kock and Marcus Stoinis forming the core of the team. But with Jason Holder now absent, they will need to find an all-rounder to complete their squad.
While they have a purse of INR 23.35 crores, Team Lucknow will likely target to induct a big all-rounder in their ranks – either Ben Stokes or Cameron Green will complete the squad for the new entrants.
Team Punjab
Similar to Team Hyderabad, Team Punjab have released their captain Mayank Agarwal. The team will now be led by Shikhar Dhawan for the next season.
With Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Arshdeep Singh, and Kagiso Rabada in its ranks, Team Punjab looks threatening on paper but often falls short of expectations.
With a purse of INR 32.2 crores, Team Punjab will be an active participant in the mini-auction.
Team Rajasthan
Another team that has decided to let go of many overseas players, Team Rajasthan has retained its core team from last year which took them to the finals.
Jos Buttler remains the franchise’s most important asset, and with Ravichandran Ashwin in their ranks, the bowling department looks strong.
With a purse of just INR 13.2 crores, Team Rajasthan have to fill their four overseas slots and are likely to settle for players that fit into their budget.
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