IPL 2020: A closer look at how the eight squads have shaped up after the auction

Pat Cummins became the most expensive foreign recruit as he went to Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.18 million.

It was a field day for fast bowlers as well, with the teams eager to stock up their pace batteries.

Let us take a look at how each team has gone about their business.

Rajasthan Royals

Big Fish: Tom Curran

He is an underrated T20 bowler who has the knack of picking up wickets.  The 24-year-old has a lot of potential and could do well if persisted with over the course of a season.

Shock pick : The best annual magic trick in the circus that is the IPL, is Jaydev Unadkat somehow convincing owners to splash big bucks for his services. In the past two seasons, he has been released and sold for over a million dollars.  This was the ninth time Unadkat was bought by a franchise, making him the most sought-after player in the history of IPL auctions.

New player to watch out for: Yashasvi Jaiswal

The 17-year-old  who became only the fourth Indian to score a List-A ton was rewarded with a bumper IPL contract. He could open the batting if Robin Uthappa fails to deliver.

Bought (11): Robin Uthappa ($421,611), Jaydev Unadkat ($421,611), Yashasvi Jaiswal ($337,265), Anuj Rawat ($112,640), Akash Singh ($28,160), Kartik Tyagi ($19,240), David Miller ($105,600), Oshane Thomas ($70,400), Anirudha Joshi ($28,160), Andrew Tye ($160,000), Tom Curran ($160,000)

Kings XI Punjab

The new look Kings XI Punjab with brought in as many as nine new players to the squad.

Big Fish: Glenn Maxwell

The best all-rounder in the shorter format according to the ICC rankings, was one of the three millionaires in the auction. He returns to his old team with a point to prove ahead of the T20 World Cup at home.

New player to watch out for: Ravi Bishnoi

A young leg-spinner who is also a handy batsman is part of India’s U-19 squad for the World Cup in 2020. Going to a team coached by Anil Kumble will be a valuable experience for the youngster.

Bought (9): Glenn Maxwell ($1,720,000), Sheldon Cottrell ($1,360,000), Deepak Hooda ($70,400), Ishan Porel ($28,160), Ravi Bishnoi ($320,000 ), James Neesham ($70,400), Chris Jordan ($480,000), Tajinder Dhillon ($28,160), Prabhsimran Singh ($77,440)

Kolkata Knight Riders

The Knight Riders took the spotlight with their headline purchase of Australian pacer Pat Cummins. They now have a fiery bowling unit with Lockie Ferguson, Kamalesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi also in the squad.

Big Fish: Eoin Morgan

Getting the world cup winning captain was a prize catch for the Knight Riders. He is an excellent fielder and should replace Shakib Al Hasan in the middle order quite nicely.

New player to watch out for:  Chris Green

The off-spinner has been making creating a name for himself in franchise cricket. His is an economical bowler and good with the bat as well.

Shock pick: Pravin Tambe

At 48 became the oldest player to be recruited by an IPL team. KKR also paid a hefty amount for mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy who had a poor season with Kings XI Punjab last year.

Bought (9): Eoin Morgan ($840,000), Pat Cummins ($2,480,000), Rahul Tripathi ($84,480), Varun Chakaravarthy ($64,000), M Siddharth ($28,160), Chris Green ($28,160), Tom Banton ($160,000), Pravin Tambe ($28,160), Nikhil Naik ($28,160)

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The RCB were prudent with their business this time. They strengthened the top-order with the acquisition of Aaron Finch.

Big Fish:  Chris Morris

The South African’s credentials as a T20 bowler and a big-hitting lower-order batsman are well established. Morris, alongside Dale Steyn, Kane Richardson and  Umesh Yadav has significantly improved their fast-bowling attack.

New player to watch out for: Joshua Phillipe

They bought Australia wicket-keeper batsman,  Joshua Phillipe for his base price. He is known for his fearless batting at the top of the order, reminiscent of Pakistan’s Moin Khan.

Bought (8): Aaron Finch ($704,000), Chris Morris ($1,600,000), Joshua Philippe ($28,160), Kane Richardson($64,000), Pavan Deshpande ($28,160), Dale Steyn ($32,000), Shahbaz Ahamad ($28,160), Isuru Udana ($70,400)

Delhi Capitals

The Capitals have done some great business in the past two seasons and now boast of a strong Indian core. They had as many as five overseas spots to fill and they have brought in some heavy weights.

Big Fish: Shimron Hetmyer

RCB might regret letting go of someone as effective as Hetmyer. The southpaw is one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket right now.

New player to watch out for: Tushar Deshpande

Mumbai’s Tushar Deshpande is a slippery fast bowler who picked up 21 first-class wickets in his first eight games.

Bought (8): Jason Roy ($240,000), Chris Woakes ($240,000), Alex Carey ($384,000), Shimron Hetmyer ($1,240,000), Mohit Sharma ($70,400), Tushar Deshpande ($28,160), Marcus Stoinis ($768,000), Lalit Yadav ($28,160)

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The team from Hyderabad invested in Indian youth and T20I specialists in this auction.

Big Fish: Mitchell Marsh

The Australian all-rounder provides lower-order batting strength alongside Vijay Shankar. His bowling has improved leaps and bounds as he recently picked up  a Test fifer against England.

New player to watch out for: Virat Singh

Virat Singh is known for his six-htting prowess and was impressive in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy this year. In 10 matches, the southpaw scored 343 runs, including three fifties, at an average of 57.16. He also hit 16 sixes.

Bought (7): Virat Singh ($267,5200), Priyam Garg ($304,000), Mitchell Marsh ($320,000), Sandeep Bavanaka ($28,160), Fabian Allen ($70,400), Abdul Samad ($28,160), Sanjay Yadav ($28,160)

Mumbai Indians

The defending champions, who hardly have any weaknesses, made a few shrewd buys on Thursday.

Big Fish: Chris Lynn
While they paid premium for the services of Nathan Coulter-Nile, it is the purchase of the big-hitting opener that can make a big impact in the upcoming season. He could provide rapid starts alongside Quinton de Kock, which would allow Rohit Sharma to bat at No.3.

New players to watch out for
They brought in left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan, all-rounder Balwant Rai Singh and fast bowler Digvijay Deshmukh as squad players.

Bought (6): Chris Lynn ($32,000), Nathan Coulter-Nile ($128,000), Saurabh Tiwary ($70,400), Mohsin Khan ($28,160), Digvijay Deshmukh ($28,160), Balwant Rai Singh ($28,160)

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings brought in the least number of players in the auction. However, there were some quirky choices and some shrewd ones as well.

Big Fish: Sam Curran

All-rounders are hot properties and Sam Curran is definitely a great young player. He can bowl at the death and with the new ball and can bat competently.

New player to watch out for: R Sai Kishore

He is a left-arm spinner who has been making waves in the domestic circuit. In the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament, he picked 20 wickets in 12 games at an impressive economy rate of 4.63.

Shock Pick:

CSK acquiring Piyush Chawla for just over a million dollars was the biggest Indian sale in the auction. He hasn’t been quite as effective in the past three seasons and it is an odd purchase for the three-time champions.

Bought (4): Sam Curran ($880,000), Piyush Chawla ($1,080,000), Josh Hazlewood ($32,000), R Sai Kishore ($28,160)