Indian Premier League: How the eight teams stand ahead of the auction

Mumbai Indians

Players released: Evin Lewis, Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff, Beuran Hendricks, Ben Cutting, Yuvraj Singh, Mayank Markande (Traded out), Barinder Sran, Rasikh Salam, Pankaj Jaswal, Siddhesh Lad (Traded out), Alzarri Joseph.

Players brought in: Dhawal Kulkarni and Trent Boult

The IPL Champions are revamping their bowling attack. With Jasprit Bumrah spearheading the pace attack, the inclusion of Trent Boult and Dhawal Kulkarni affords them the luxury of releasing the likes of Ben Cutting and Alzarri Joseph. It is surprising that they’ve let go of a promising young spinner leg-spinner in Mayank Markande but they do have Rahul Chahar in their ranks to fill in.

Purse Remaining: $1,819,513

Slots left: Seven

What they need: One more spinner and one Indian top-order batsman.

Chennai Super Kings

Players  released: Sam Billings, David Willey, Mohit Sharma, Dhruv Shorey, Scott Kuggeleijn, Chaitanya Bishnoi.

They were mocked for their recruitment of senior players in the last auction and they proved everyone wrong with a strong campaign. So, it is no surprise that almost every single player they released was under the age of 30. David Willey could have proven useful and it is bit of shock that Stephen Fleming and co thought of him as surplus.

Purse Remaining: $2,035,623

Slots left: Five

What they need: Having lost three pacers, they too will be looking for a foreign fast bowler to support Deepak Chahar.

Delhi Capitals

Players Released: Chris Morris, Colin Ingram, Hanuma Vihari, Ankush Bains, Colin Munro, Bandaru Ayyappa, Manjot Kalra, Jalaj Saxena, Nathu Singh.

Players brought in : Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin

They dropped the South African pair of T20 specialists but the shocking move was releasing the big-hitting Kiwi Colin Munro. With Rahane in their ranks, they have a very settled Indian top-order with Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan.

The underrated Saxena loses out again and is replaced by the massively experienced Ashwin.

Purse Remaining: $3,883,022

Slots left: 11

What they need: They could do with a young pacer to partner Ishant Sharma and Kagiso Rabada.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Players Released: Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Martin Guptill, Deepak Hooda and Ricky Bhui.

The Sunrisers have let go of a glut of all-rounders. Shakib is serving a ban, Yusuf is ageing and Hooda is inexplicably inconsistent.

Purse Remaining: $2,370,246

Slots left: Seven

What they need: They’ll need another Indian spinner or preferably an all-rounder similar to Mohammad Nabi.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Players released: Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Piyush Chawla, Joe Denly, Yarra Prithviraj, Nikhil Naik, KC Cariappa, Matthew Kelly, Shrikant Mundhe and Carlos Brathwaite.

The franchise has done well to get rid of all the dead weight. Releasing Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa could mean more chances at the top of the order for the talented opener Shubman Gill. They have a young pace contingent with injury prone bowlers. That would be the department to strengthen for Dinesh Karthik’s team.

Purse Remaining: $4,970,547

Slots left: 11

What they need:  KKR need a couple of batsmen to strengthen their top-order.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Players released: Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Akshdeep Nath, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin De Grandhomme, Prayas Ray Barman, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Himmat Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Chama Milind, Dale Steyn.

RCB are undertaking yet another major overhaul. They have gone ahead and dropped talented players like Shimron Hetmyer, Colin De Grandhomme and Heinrich Klaasen after one poor season.

Purse Remaining: $3,889,993

Slots left: 12

What they need: They would do well to acquire a steady player in the middle-order who anchors the innings. Yuzvendra Chahal might need a back up.

Rajasthan Royals:

Players released: Ashton Turner, Oshane Thomas, Shubham Ranjane, Prashant Chopra, Ish Sodhi, Aryaman Birla, Jaydev Unadkat, Rahul Tripathi, Stuart Binny, Liam Livingstone, Sudheshan Midhun.

Players brought in: Mayank Markande, Ankit Rajpoot and Rahul Tewatia

The Royals have released players who might fetch a good price in the auction such as Oshane Thomas and Ashton Turner. After being bought for extravagant sums in the previous two auctions by the Royals, it does look like  Jaydev Unadkat’s luck has run out. They have also let go of captain Rahane and it is Steve Smith who will lead the team in the next edition.

Purse Remaining: $4,029,420

Slots left: 11

What they need:  Jofra Archer and Steve Smith are their trump cards. They have no senior Indian batsman and could make a splash for experience.

Kings XI Punjab

Players released: David Miller, Moises Henriques, Sam Curran, Andrew Tye, Varun Chakravarthy, Prabhsimran Singh, Agnivesh Ayachi.

Players brought in: Krisnappa Gowtham and Jagadeesha Suchith

While Andrew Tye is out with injury, KXIP opting not to retain Sam Curran is a bit of a surprise. Their patience for their big money signing Varun Chakravarthy, the mystery spinner, didn’t last long as well. There is a change of guard as KL Rahul has been named the new captain of the franchise.

What they need: They’ve lost two spinners and need an experienced slow bowler to partner Mujeeb Ur Rahman. A top-order Indian batsman needs to make his way into the team as well.