IPL Auction 2022: In buyer’s market, every team will look to begin afresh – Times of India

BENGALURU: Days ahead of the first Indian Premier League auction, the excitement of players going under the hammer – novel in sport and quite in keeping with the hype and hoopla which have become synonymous with the T20 tournament – was unmatched.
Many editions of the tournament later, another auction weekend looms, and the buzz hasn’t let up one bit. If anything, with 10 teams in the fray, spending capacity of franchises and player prices have only gotten bigger.
If auction history is anything to go by, then, more than six weeks before the first ball of the tournament is bowled, relatively unknown players, in a matter of five minutes or so, become household names for the prices they command and for relegating proven heroes and warhorses with accomplishments a yard long to the backburner. All it takes is just one bidding frenzy to change a player’s fortune.

There is plenty at stake in this edition, not just for the players but for franchises as well. With just 35 players having been retained/drafted in before the auction, every team is looking to begin afresh.
Team managements will rack their brains as they attempt to put together what they think will be a winning formula. A lot of work has gone into preparing for the two big days ahead. Talent scouts from the teams have scoured the country and toiled through the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare tournaments to spot that game-changer.

Their inputs have been made in boardrooms where team think-tanks have pored over statistics, inferences have been drawn and an auction blueprint put together. With no official confirmation on the tournament venue yet, versatility and adaptability will form the crux of player selection.

MONEY MATTERS
The teams go with a bigger spending capacity than before with the total purse available across franchises being Rs 561.5 crore. This is the purse left after retentions and drafts.

Punjab Kings, who retained just two players – Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh—will be the richest franchise at the auction with Rs 72 crore in their kitty. The think-tank led by spin legend Anil Kumble is looking for a fresh start after having spent the last couple of seasons fumbling with team composition.

At the other end, Delhi Capitals with Rs 42.5 crore at their disposal will have to be prudent about their investment. But they have fewer boxes to tick compared to the others. With Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel and Anrich Nortje they have retained their core in each department.
CAPTAINCY
The prime focus of teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders will be the bid to land a captain. In the case of RCB, the shoes of Virat Kohli are big to fill. Also, Chennai Super Kings will look at a player or two who can be groomed by MS Dhoni as their future captain. Given Kane Williamson’s injury concerns, Sunrisers Hyderabad too will be on the lookout for a leader.

Punjab Kings will look for a captain if they haven’t decided to hand over the mantle to Agarwal. This brings players like Shreyas Iyer and David Warner under the spotlight. Warner has already delivered and Iyer too is ideal captaincy material having led Delhi in the past. Franchises could break the bank for the pair. Ishan Kishan too will be looked at as a potential leader.

YOUNG GUNS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
While IPL auctions have unearthed hidden talent over the years, the recent U-19 World Cup has added extra flavour to the pool of youngsters. India’s winning skipper and star batsman Yash Dhull is bound to garner a lot of attention alongside his teammate and all-rounder Raj Angad Bawa, South Africa’s ‘baby AB de Villiers’ Dewald Brevis and left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal. These stars in the making will leave a line-up of young talent waiting to burst onto the IPL stage.