The IPL 2024 auction will be held on December 19 in Dubai – here’s ranking how each team is placed ahead of the event on Tuesday.
1. Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians are probably the highest-ranked team before the auction and have an impressive top-six team led by new captain Hardik Pandya, who previously won the IPL as captain. The team’s first pair since 2022 has only managed 130.72 points, but Mumbai have an attacking middle order that can make up for a slow start. Jasprit Bumrah has a deadly speedman who can be effective in every phase. Although they have young sensations Akash Madhwal and Jason Behrendorff, they need a pace back-up for Bumrah and Hardik could also be a useful seamer. Mumbai needs to strengthen its spin bowling department, but he has a budget of Rs 1,775 crore to make the team more threatening.
2. Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan won four of the first five matches in IPL 2023 but slumped after that and did not make it to the playoffs. But they cover most of their bases, starting with the fiery opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, followed by Sanju Samson. While Riyan Parag had a great season domestically, the rise of Dhruv Jurel caught the eye last year. Rajasthan Royals have added Abesh Khan in this year’s deal, who will partner Trent Boult along with Prasidh Krishna. Also, Rajasthan has perhaps the best spin-his bowling attack of any team, led by Yuzvendra Chahal, R. Ashwin and Adam His Zampa.
Rajasthan will be a team to watch as they have a purse of Rs 1.45 crore to sign an all-rounder and a middle-order batsman.
3. Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH look dangerous on paper as they have world-class players who are capable of excelling in Indian conditions. They have South African trio Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen, who performed well at the 2023 World Cup, in their ranks, followed by New Zealander Glenn Phillips. Rahul Tripathi had a poor IPL last year, but before that he was an underrated player along with Mayank Agarwal. The bowling attack of IPL great Bhuvneshwar Kumar, yorker specialist T. Natarajan, fleet-footed Umraan Malik and spin all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed and Washington Sundar pose problems that the franchise can address off the field. If the issue is resolved, there is a possibility that they will be used as a fighting force.
4. Lucknow Super Giants
KL Rahul will reportedly bat in the middle order in the upcoming IPL, adding experience to the batting lineup. Top-flight Quinton de Kock is unstoppable once he gets going, while Devdutt Padikkal, who was recently traded, is doing well in domestic cricket. The top six, which also includes Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis, looks strong, while Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya will partner Ravi Bishnoi as spinners.
They need quick bowling reserves to help the inconsistent Mark Wood and Naveen-ul-Haq, but given that they have the lowest funding of any team at Rs 1.39 crore. It might be difficult.
5. Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR released 12 players before the auction, but were able to retain their main players. Their biggest strength is the core of the Indian batting line-up of Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh, who are also always known as spinners. But otherwise, KKR has a big gap to fill. They need an attacking opener, a replacement for the erratic and injury-prone Andre Russell, and need to build a pace bowling attack from the ground up. KKR has some exciting youngsters, but they will need experience in various departments to succeed in 2024.
6. Gujarat Titans
There are not many players on the auction list who have the same skills as the former captain, so letting Hardik go would hurt the balance of the team. They will also miss out on the services of top-order Hardik, who beat arguably the weakest team on paper to become champions ahead of IPL 2022. Newly appointed captain Shubman Gill has no experience and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure.
Overall, Gujarat have some players like Mohit Sharma, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha who gave surprise performances in the last two seasons, but they may struggle this time. be. Mohammed Shami does not have a reliable fast bowling partner, but Gujarat has his Rs 2,885 crore purse to fill the void.
7. Royal Challengers Bangalore
The same old problems continue to plague Royal Challengers Bangalore. They traded Cameron Green to strengthen their batting resources, but they still rely on Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli. With three overseas batsmen, the bowling is not good enough, and Mohammed Siraj tends to be unstable. They released Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga, but their bowling further weakened with the dismissal of premier spinner Yuzvendra Chahal a few seasons ago. RCB has players like Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Kartik, but their dependence on superstars could lead to their downfall once again.
8. Delhi Capitals
Delhi were without captain Rishabh Pant last year, and without him, the team lacked batting power and direction. In the 2023 season, batters averaged less than 20 hits, had a strike rate of 124.72, and only David Warner had over 300 RBIs. However, he also had to struggle with his batting average. No other middle-order batsman in Delhi has scored more than 220 runs and that is their biggest concern. Delhi have a strong bowling attack with Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Marsh, Anrich Nortje, and Ishant Sharma, but their batting power is in tatters.
9. Punjab Kings
Punjab will likely finish in 8th place in 2023 as the situation continues to be unstable and the players are unable to perform as a team. Captain Shikhar Dhawan last played for India over a year ago and is no longer in his prime, but other young Indian batsmen Prabhushiran Singh, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia and Jitesh Sharma Sometimes it shone. The bowling world seems to be relying heavily on Arshdeep Singh and it has been revealed that Sam Curran and lead spinner Rahul Chahar will be acquired for big sums in 2023. All in all, there are too many bases to cover as the prize money reaches him 24 million rupees.
10. Chennai Super Kings
CSK has consistently performed well in the IPL and it is all thanks to maverick skipper MS Dhoni. However, given the wicketkeeper’s struggles with fitness and the limited experience of managing the team, Chennai could find themselves in trouble. They have some underachieving, older players who have found ways to find success with the franchise, but with a weak bench it would be disastrous if they don’t play regularly. Overall, Chennai have always struggled with experience in the fast bowling and spin department, but feel they are on the verge of collapse without a fit Dhoni.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
