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All 10 IPL franchises confirmed the players to release and retain ahead of the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai on December 19.
Hardik Pandya's traded from the Gujarat Titans (GT) to his long-time IPL franchise, Mumbai Indians (MI), just after the retention cut-off time swept away the headlines. However, several other retentions and releases from all 10 franchises affected the team balance and their purse remaining for the upcoming auction.
While some were on expected lines, others from a few franchises created a cause to pause and ponder.
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While the performance on the field ultimately defines the success or failure of the franchises, moving the right chess pieces in the build-up to and at the auction is often half the job done.
Keeping that in mind, let us deep-dive into the balance of each IPL squad post-retentions and rank them accordingly.
#10 Kolkata Knight Riders
Although they are one of the most mercurial sides of the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), unfortunately, have several gaping holes in their current squad. Following a sensational start, winning two of their first three games, KKR endured a dismal slide by losing seven of their next 11 outings last year.
Among other areas, their pace bowling deficiencies were glaring, with almost all their fast bowlers conceding runs at an alarming rate. It resulted in the side having the third worst economy rate of 9.12 despite their trio of spinners - Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Suyash Sharma boasting economy rates around eight.
Their key pacers, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, and Umesh Yadav, conceded runs at rates of 10.47, 12.52, 13.16, and 9.94, respectively. The franchise released all four in an attempt to revamp their pace-bowling core.
Another issue that plagued the side throughout last season was the lack of consistency among openers. While Jason Roy displayed promise with an average of over 35 and a strike rate of 151.59 in eight games, the other openers failed miserably.
Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz averaged a dismal 20.33 in 11 outings, and Narayan Jagadeesan averaged an even worse 14.83 in six games. KKR also let go of Bangladesh opener Litton das.
With the return of regular skipper Shreyas Iyer expected to bolster an already strong middle-order of Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, and Andre Russell, KKR must go all out to fix their opening issues.
However, with a purse of ₹32.70 crore entering the auction, it remains to be seen if the franchise can fix all of these apparent liabilities that ailed the side last season. They will hope their newly appointed mentor, Gautam Gambhir, can work his magic, similar to when he was the KKR captain.
#9 Delhi Capitals
Following impressive seasons from 2019 to 2022, including two playoffs and a final run, Delhi Capitals (DC) suffered a horrific slip last season. The side lost its opening five games and was the first to suffer elimination from playoff contention.
In the absence of regular skipper Rishabh Pant, DC's batting was inarguably the worst among the ten teams in 2023. They were the only side with an average per batter of less than 20 and possessed the worst strike rate in the competition at 124.72.
Barring David Warner, who scored 516 runs in 14 games, DC's next-highest run-scorer was lower-order batter Axar Patel with 283 runs. Evidence of their top and middle-order frailties was that no other batter scored even 220 runs or had an average in the 30s.
It led to the franchise releasing the likes of Rilee Rossouw, Phil Salt, Manish Pandey, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, and Priyam Garg. Their bowling wasn't much better, with batting all-rounder Mitchell Marsh finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 12 scalps.
The return of Pant and Anrich Nortje regaining full fitness should help the side improve in both facets. However, DC will have to shrewdly use its remaining budget of ₹28.95 crore to pluck these holes.
#8 Punjab Kings
Another season, another disappointing finish, was the tale of the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) story in IPL 2023.
The side showed glimpses of a turnaround with two consecutive victories to open the season before falling into their usual inconsistent self to finish eighth with six wins in 14 games.
PBKS' key concern was the over-reliance on a few individuals and a lack of proven Indian batters. Despite showcasing their apparent talent, youngsters like Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia, and Jitesh Sharma averaged less than 30.
The bowling also lacked penetration, with only two bowlers - Nathan Ellis and Arshdeep Singh picking up more than 10 wickets. Two of their most bankable bowlers, Sam Curran and Rahul Chahar, averaged over 48 with the ball while playing all 14 games.
With the franchise retaining almost all their core starters except Shahrukh Khan, they will look to add experience and pedigree to the middle order and bolster their spin bowling arsenal.
The retention of Curran means that the Punjab Kings are left with just over ₹24 crores at the auction to attain a balanced squad.
#7 Royal Challengers Bangalore
After a hattrick of playoff appearances between 2020 and 2022, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a rough season in 2023. Despite boasting several marquee names, they finished sixth with seven wins in 14 games.
With RCB, it has never been a case of identifying the issues but more so finding the solutions to resolve them. The usual dependencies on two or three key batters to do the bulk of the scoring resurfaced last season, with Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell scoring 639, 730, and 400 runs, respectively. Meanwhile, no other batter outside these three scaled even the 150-run mark.
The bowling followed a similar pattern, with Mohammed Siraj being the standout bowler, picking up 19 wickets at an average of under 20. The other two bowlers with at least 10 wickets - Karn Sharma and Harshal Patel, traveled at an economy rate of 10.37 and 9.65, respectively.
RCB was among the few sides that released renowned names like Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, and Michael Bracewell. Hasaranga's absence creates a lack of high-caliber spin options in the bowling department. The franchise also has massive holes to fill as far as death bowling is concerned.
In the Hardik Pandya to MI trade, RCB picked up Australian all-rounder Cameron Green. While his inclusion and the return of Rajat Patidar should help fix some of the batting issues, the bowling could be an Achilles heel again.
With almost half the purse of ₹40.75 crores spent on acquiring Green, the management has a stiff task at the auction.
#6 Lucknow Super Giants
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have been a model of consistency in the first two seasons of IPL, finishing in the top four both times. Yet, they could not advance to the final on both occasions, thanks predominantly to their inexperience in Indian batting after KL Rahul and in the pace-bowling department.
The franchise made an intelligent off-season trade to beef up the No.3 position that hindered them last season, with Devdutt Padikkal coming in for Avesh Khan. While the top six of KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Padikkal, Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis, and Ayush Badoni look strong, their pace bowling still requires bolstering.
Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya form a decent enough spin-bowling all-rounder duo, with leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi as the primary spinner.
However, the lack of experience or pedigree in fast bowling is glaring, with Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur, Mayank Yadav, and Yudhvir Singh as the Indian options. The squad boasts impressive yet inconsistent overseas pacers in Mark Wood and Naveen ul Haq.
Considering LSG has the lowest purse of only ₹13.9 crore for the auction thanks to them retaining their high-priced players, it poses a challenge for the franchise to avoid having their pace-bowling exposed in IPL 2024.
#5 Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans (GT) have been the most impressive side over the last two seasons, with a title in 2022 and a final finish last season. Hardik Pandya has been the face of the franchise, leading from the front as a performer with bat and ball and as a leader.
However, the bombshell news of the all-rounder's trade to Mumbai Indians (MI), has titled the balance of both sides. Hardik's absence leaves a massive hole in the middle-order and could also force GT to use Rahul Tewatia and Vijay Shankar more with the ball.
GT could also face issues with new captain Shubaman Gill, should he struggle to come to terms with leadership and the burden hindering his free-flowing batting. Gill has almost single-handedly carried GT's top-order batting, finishing as the tournament's leading run-scorer last season with 890 runs.
Mohit Sharma was a surprise star for the franchise last year, but should he be unable to replicate his heroics, there could be a few questions in the pace-bowling department. Mohammed Shami was sensational with 28 scalps in IPL 2023, but occasionally, Hardik had to share new-ball duties with him.
A reliable new-ball partner for Shami, the sixth bowling option dilemma, captaincy questions, and middle-order holes have almost entirely emerged due to Hardik's trade to MI.
How GT manages to mitigate these aspects with the ₹28.85 crore auction purse remains to be seen.
#4 Chennai Super Kings
Despite winning an incredible fifth IPL title last season, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) remain an enigma on paper. As is often the case, the squad leaves several questions unanswered, like not having reliable opening bowlers, the lack of mystery spinners, and carrying several aging players.
Yet, MS Dhoni's leadership, the management clearly defining player roles, and tried and tested strategies ensure CSK almost always punches above their weight. However, the absence of the now-retired Ambati Rayudu could weaken their proud batting depth.
Their main worry last season was the highly expensive and lack of wicket-taking in the powerplay. The return of Mukesh Choudhary could help in that aspect, but the recent form of Maheesh Theekshana, and Matheesha Pathirana could open new wounds.
While the starting 11 looks solid as ever, CSK's bench strength is another factor that could rear its ugly head in case of injuries during the 2024 season. Yet, the release of Ben Stokes and the retirement of Rayudu has opened up a cap space of ₹32.1 crore.
With that, CSK's ever-reliable think tank should be able to fill the minimalistic holes in an otherwise strong outfit.
#3 Rajasthan Royals
One of the surprising eliminations last season was that of the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Following an impressive final run in 2022, the side looked to be on course for a similar result this year with a 4-1 start after five games.
However, the indifferent form of their key batters - Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson, led them to an unsalvagable slide, losing six of their final nine outings. Nevertheless, the Royals are among the few teams with the most bases covered and the potential to go a step further than in 2022.
The pickup of Avesh Khan makes them one of the few franchises with bankable options in fast and spin bowling. Prasidh Krishna, who missed last season with an injury, is also fit and firing. Add to that seasoned campaigners Sandeep Sharma and Trent Boult, and RR boasts an excellent pace-bowling repertoire.
Furthermore, RR has arguably the best spin-bowling tandem in Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, with the duo combining for 35 wickets last season.
With the most dangerous top three of Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sanju Samson, the resurgence of Riyan Parag, and the emergence of Dhruv Jurel last season, RR's batting should rival any other side, even if it lacks depth.
They could look for a lower-order batting all-rounder or two in the upcoming auction with the remaining ₹14.5 crore.
#2 SunRisers Hyderabad
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at No.2 is likely to raise eyebrows, considering that a similar squad finished at the bottom of the table last season.
However, questionable selections, players being out of position, and the collective poor performances of a few key members led to SRH's disastrous 2023 season.
On paper, the squad looks formidable yet again, with every base covered and boasting the presence of proven match-winners and consistent performers. The form of Mayank, Rahul Tripathi Agarwal, and Aiden Markram was the biggest letdown for SRH with the bat.
Yet, the South African should be better accustomed to Indian wickets and captaincy, thanks to his excellent showing in the recent ODI World Cup. On the bowling front, Washington Sundar's injury and poor form, with T Natarajan's dismal run, hurt the side's chances last season.
However, all the above are proven performers in IPLs gone by, and should they realize their potential, SRH should be among the favorites to make a deep run in 2024. The addition of left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed further bolsters the variety in the spin department and adds batting depth.
A batting lineup featuring Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Heinrich Klaasen, and Glenn Phillips, with an attack of Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, and T Natarajan, is as fearsome as any on paper. The emergence of Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Umran Malik, and Fazalhaq Farooqi also adds tremendous bench strength.
SRH released England batter Harry Brook and Adil Rashid, among others, to free up ₹34 crore to strengthen the squad further.
#1 Mumbai Indians
Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians were back in the playoffs last season after consecutive finishes outside the top four.
They were two games away from winning a sixth title despite being without their spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. The champion pacer is back in full glory and should form a mouth-watering partnership with young sensation Akash Madhwal.
Madhwal picked up 14 wickets in only eight games and was critical to MI turning around an inconsistent campaign. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla turned back the clock with a team-leading 22 scalps last season.
However, the move that almost certainly makes MI the most balanced squad heading into the auction is the trade for all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Although they had to let go of Cameron Green, who performed admirably for them last season, Hardik's inclusion is a substantial upgrade. The star all-rounder helped MI win four IPL titles between 2015 and 2020.
The bating is undeniably the strongest on paper, with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, and Tim David forming an intimidating top six. With Jason Behrendorff, MI boasts one of the best opening bowlers in T20s.
Having around ₹18 crores in their kitty, MI should look to improve their bench strength and spin bowling weapons.
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