After major reshuffles, what to expect in upcoming IPL 2021 auctions

In the upcoming auction, Rajasthan Royals would go for an experienced cricketer who can prove to be the ideal replacement for Steve Smith. Rajasthan's pace department seems to be in place with Jofra Archer leading the attack and young Kartik Tyagi maintaining a similar tempo during the middle overs. However, an addition in the seam department will not hurt Rajasthan and it will provide the team with solid bench strength.

IPL 2021 mini-auction will be held next month. (Representational Image)

The eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises on Wednesday announced the list of players that were retained before the mini-auction, which is scheduled to be held next month. The development saw many big names getting released from their respective franchises, making the upcoming auction look more captivating.  

Some of the big stars that were not retained by their respective franchises include Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, among others. Today we look back at the squad and point out the gaps that the franchises would look to fill in the auction.  

Chennai Super Kings

The franchise showed great faith in former India batsman Suresh Raina, who despite not taking part in the previous edition, was retained by Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The team retained most of its youngsters but veteran off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh, along with Kedar Jadhav, Murali Vijay, and Piyush Chawla were left out from the squad. 

Singams for the Super Summer ahead! #Yellove #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/nZAbIxgnPW

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) January 20, 2021

So in the absence of Harbhajan and Jadhav, the team would look to rope an off-spinner and middle-order specialist in the auction. 

CSK, which struggled in the tournament held in Dubai last year, will look to strengthen their middle-order, and with Raina also joining in, it won't come as a surprise if the team bounces back in convincing fashion in IPL 2021.   

Squad: MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Narayan Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood, R Sai Kishore, Sam Curran   

Delhi Capitals 

Delhi Capitals under Shreyas Iyer's leadership made it to the finals in UAE. The team displayed great character throughout the season, backed by some remarkable bowling performances from the South African pair of  Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Rishabh Pant, who had a fantastic outing with the bat in the Australia tour, will look to maintain a similar reputation going into the tournament. 

As of now, Delhi would look to include an Indian wicketkeeper in their camp, considering Pant being the only candidate for the role. Apart from that, the team looks very much balanced but with Prithvi Shaw finding it difficult to get into the groove, Delhi might also lookout for a batsman who can fill the opening slot.

Squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Anrich Nortje, Pravin Dubey, Chris Woakes

Kings XI Punjab

Major reshuffles are expected in the Punjab unit especially after the team decided to let go of nine players. Maxwell, James Neesham, Sheldon Cottrell were some of the big names that were not retained by the team.  

In their absence, the team would look to fill up the middle-order by going for a solid finisher, a bowler who can maintain a tight line and length during the death overs, and an all-rounder who can chip in both the departments of the game. 

Squad: KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel 

Rajasthan Royals

Family is never forgotten. 

Thank you for the memories, and all the best for next season! #HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily pic.twitter.com/dhMM87bsTx

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) January 21, 2021

After a poor outing in the previous edition, Rajasthan decided to release their captain Steve Smith and hand over the mantle to Sanju Samson. While the Kerala cricketer ticks all the boxes, the departure of Smith will definitely open several gaps in the squad. Apart from Smith, English cricketer Tom Curran, Oshane Thomas, and Varun Aaron were the notable names left out by the franchise. 

In the upcoming auction, the team would go for an experienced cricketer who can prove to be the ideal replacement for Smith. Rajasthan's pace department seems to be in place with Jofra Archer leading the attack and young Kartik Tyagi maintaining a similar tempo during the middle overs. However, an addition in the seam department will not hurt Rajasthan and it will provide the team with solid bench strength.   

One thing that Rajasthan would look to add going into the auction will be the batting department. Despite having some of the big names in the form of Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Samson himself, the team has choked on many occasions. 

Squad: Sanju Samson (c), Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Robin Uthappa 

Sunrisers Hyderabad 

The David Warner-led Sunrisers Hyderabad have been one of the most consistent units in the lucrative T20 league. The team retained most of their core squad that featured in the previous edition and won't look to tamper with their current squad. 

SRH, however, can purchase three players in the upcoming auction, including one foreign pick. 

Squad: David Warner (c), Abhishek Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha, Abdul Samad, Mitchell Marsh, Jason Holder, Priyam Garg, Virat Singh 

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Still waiting for their maiden IPL triumph, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) did some major changes in their line-up. The franchise let go of ten players, including South African all-rounder Chris Morris and Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch. 

Premier pacers Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav were also not retained by the franchise, making RCB one of the teams to watch out for in the auctions.  

The team looks solid in the batting department with both skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers taking the charge. Devdutt Padikkal, who is currently playing in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, is also an automatic pick in the playing eleven. 

However, apart from the trio, no other big names feature in the RCB unit and the team would have their eyes set on getting some solid finisher in their camp. Also with Morris and Shivam Dube no longer a part of the team, RCB would be in the hunt to add a couple of all-rounders, who can deliver the ball at a decent pace. 

Meanwhile, a couple of changes can also be expected in the pace department with both Umesh and Steyn being released. 

Squad: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Joshua Philippe, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahamad, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Harshal Patel    

Kolkata Knight Riders 

Kolkata Knight Riders have retained most players from their core unit, with only five cricketers who got very little game time being released from the squad. The team can fill seven slots, including one overseas player, in the upcoming edition of IPL. 

Squad: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (c), Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Ali Khan, Tim Seifert 

Mumbai Indians

Defending champions Mumbai Indians released seven players from their core unit and will enter the upcoming auction with a purse value of Rs 15.35 crore. Interestingly, out of the seven players that were released by Mumbai five were foreigners. This means that the team is now eligible to purchase the same number of overseas players in the upcoming auction. 

Going into the auction, Mumbai would look to strengthen their seam attack especially after the departure of veteran Sri Lanka cricketer Lasith Malinga, James Pattinson, Mitchell McCleneghan, and Nathan Coulter-Nile. 

Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn, Mohsin Khan, Saurabh Tiwary, Trent Boult