IPL 2020: How the eight franchises stack up after auction

62 players were sold for a total INR 144.30 crores on Thursday in Kolkata for the impending Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season. The Australians left with hefty checks with Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell leading the chart while among the West Indies, Sheldon Cottrell bagged the most. And at the end of the six-hour-long session, here’s how each franchise look…

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Squad Strength: 21
Players bought in auction: 8
Purse at the end of the auction: INR 6.4 cr

After another dismal season in IPL 2019 where they had lost five in a row en route to finishing bottom of the table, Royal Challengers Bangalore shelled as many as 11 players while maintaining that core group comprising the irreplaceable Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers along with Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini. Hence, they were among the busiest at the IPL 2020 auction in Kolkata on Thursday and they left the venue having brought eight players. One big thing that RCB were looking at the auction was a death bowler. They had recorded their worst figures last year, which was among the primary reasons for their failure. They chased Pat Cummins to the extent of INR 14.75 before two freaking bids from Kolkata Knight Riders ended their hope and hence were forced to turn the focus on back-up plans.

RCB first picked Australia's white-ball skipper Aaron Finch for INR 4.40 crores after losing out on Cummins battle before roping in all-rounder Chris Morris (INR 10 crore) who will be looking to fill in the finisher's spot. Death overs remained their concern and to cover up the zone, they brought Kane Richardson (INR 4.4 cr) and recalled Dale Steyn (INR 2 cr). But they still seemed unsatisfied and hence went after Sri Lanka's Isuru Udana who could prove to be a useful option on slower pitches with his cutters. Towards the end, they also picked Sydney Sixers keeper-bat Josh Phillipe (INR 20 lakhs), who can prove to be a good steal if he manages to emulate his impressive BBL form on Aussie tracks in IPL 2020.

Have RCB got all bases covered? A 90 per cent affirmative. The selection of Finch and Phillipe adds depth to the batting lineup and hence will ease the pressure of Kohli and De Villiers. They also have a core Indian group of Shivam Dube, Chahal, Sundar and Umesh Yadav who is also back in form. Death overs will still be a worry for RCB, but they have found options in Richardson, Steyn and Udana.

Kings XI Punjab

Squad Strength: 25
Players bought in auction: 9
Purse at the end of the auction: INR 16.50 cr

They headed into the auction with the most (INR 42.7 crores) in their purse after releasing some big-earning players (7 only) and hence KXIP were the side to make desperate calls. They required a strong middle-order batsman to provide depth to newly-announced skipper KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, and they got back Glenn Maxwell (for INR 10.75 crore) after an intense bidding war with Delhi Capitals. KXIP then required a strong overseas pace option for the powerplays, and they roped in Sheldon Cottrell (INR 8.5 crores). KXIP even managed to add two all-rounders who possess the ability to slot in the final overs - James Neesham and Chris Jordan, and another - Deepak Hooda.

Have KXIP got all bases covered? They now have a strong batting lineup and have a backup for Gayle as well in case the Windies legend fails to get going. They have Maxwell and Pooran as two power-hitting overseas options in the middle. They also have spin variations in Krishnappa Gowtham, who can even ramp up a couple of boundaries at astonishing strike rates, Afghanistan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman and India U-19 star Ravi Bishnoi, who is a leggie. The pace department has Jordan, Cottrell and Shami, who is now back in India's T20I squad, besides domestic options. KXIP indeed look to have a strong side, probably for the first time since 2014, their best season so far. All we now have to wait and see how Anil Kumble will use his options in IPL 2020.

Delhi Capitals

Squad strength: 22
Players bought in the auction: 8
Purse at the end of the auction: INR 9 Crore

Delhi Capitals packed in some big names, some formidable T20 players and have now been left with a happy headache. They padded up their Indian-heavy batting lineup with England's Jason Roy, West Indies' in-form batsman Shimron Hetmyer (7.75 Crore) and Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey. They failed to bag a hard-hitting all-rounder in Glenn Maxwell form whom they went till INR 10.50 crore, the second last bid for the Aussie, and hence offset the failure by roping in Chris Woakes (INR 1.50 Crore) and Marcus Stoinis (INR 4.8 Crore).

But where do these buys fit in if you have to choose a playing XI right away? Dhawan, Shaw, Rahane, Iyer and Pant will form the batting line-up (in order). Axar Patel and Ashwin will the spinners and Rabada will form the pace line-up with Ishant Sharma and two between Keemo Paul, Marcus Stoinis and Chris Woakes. Hence, the likes of Roy, Carey and Hetmyer will only come in select conditions or if the Indian batting heavy incurs an injury or falls low.

Chennai Super Kings

Squad strength: 24
Players bought in auction: 4
Purse at the end of the auction: INR 15 Lakh

They went in with the least amount in their purse, and they left with just four players. And the Daddy Army still looks the same, threatening and spin-heavy. MS Dhoni always loves an attacking leg-spinner and hence went after Piyush Chawla to rope him in for INR 6.75 crore to add to the spin line-up of Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner and Karn Sharma. Sam Curran (INR 5.5 crores) was added as that all-rounder option, who can also be used as a surprise pinch-hitting option at the top of the order. Meanwhile, they made a last-minute addition to their squad by buying Josh Hazlewood (Rs 2 crore) and R Sai Kishore (Rs 20 Lakhs).

Well CSK still looks the same as last year. Watson and Faf to open followed by Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni. Then one between Bravo and Jadeja will be the all-rounder depending on the track before the spinners come into the playing XI. Chahar and Thakur will be the primary pacers.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Squad strength: 25
Players bought in auction: 7
Purse at the end of the auction: INR. 10.10 Crore

Two overseas and five uncapped Indians were roped in by Sunrisers Hyderabad, but the team yet stands heavily depended on the top-three. Mitch Marsh for INR 2 crores was a steal according to coach Trevor Bayliss, as he comes in as a replacement option for Shakib Al Hasan. West Indies' Fabian Allen was another buy for SRH, who is a ferocious finisher and can chip in with a couple of overs as well. But with Warner, Bairstow and Williamson fixed for the top-order. Only one between Nabi and Rashid can afford to fill that remaining overseas spot. IPL 2020 will also give chance for Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar and Khaleel Ahmed to stand up and boost their T20I resume before the World Cup. The bowling lineup, as usual, looks perfect with doubts over participation of Bhuvneshwar Kumar amid constant injury issues.

Mumbai Indians

Squad strength: 24
Players bought in auction: 6
Purse at the end of the auction: INR 1.95 Crore

Effectively, they made two buys - Chris Lynn at INR 2 crores was a smart decision and Australia's Nathan Coulter-Nile for INR 8 crores. Saurabh Tiwary, who is a player you associate with Mumbai Indians, was recalled but is unlikely to get a game after the core team was retained ahead of the auction. Lynn was brought because MI required a strong top-order batsman while Coulter-Nile was brought as a back-up for injury-prone Lasith Malinga. And it may so happen that even these two stars might end up warming the bench for most matches of the season. Nevertheless, these two effective buys only made Mumbai look greater ahead of IPL 2020.

Rajasthan Royals

Squad strength: 25
Players bought in auction: 11
Purse at the end of the auction: INR 14.95 Crore

The famed Moneyball concept made a comeback to the Royals camp as 11 players were brought by Rajasthan for roughly 14 crore including three players who can find a spot right away in the playing XI - Robin Uthappa, Jaydev Unadkat and teen-sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal. This implies Rajasthan have managed to form a lineup around their core four of Buttler, Smith, Archer and Stokes. Meanwhile, they also have backups batting option in Miller and in bowling as well - Oshane Thomas, Andrew Tye and Tom Curran.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Squad Strength: 23
Players bought in auction: 9
Purse at the end of the auction: INR 8.5 Crore

More than 2/3rd of their entire purse (INR 36.65 crore) was spent behind roping in a solid-pace option in Pat Cummins (15.5 Crore) and strengthening their middle-order lineup with Eoin Morgan (INR 5.25 Crore). And all those actions happened in the first 15 minutes of the auction in Kolkata. They remained active throughout and bagged Varun Chakravarthy (INR 4 Crore), England's new T20 sensation Tom Banton (1 Crore), and an all-round option in Chris Green (INR 20 Lakh). KKR ended the auction with the surprise pick of 48-year-old Pravin Tambe, who is 10 years older than head coach Brendon McCullum.

But the looming question remains - have KKR got all bases covered? If we just look at the best possible playing XI, Shubman Gill will start with Rahul Tripathi probably followed by Nitish Rana, Morgan, Dinesh Karthik. Andre Russell will be the all-rounder and the pace lineup will be formed by Cummins, Lockie Ferguson and one uncapped Indian. This will imply that Sunil Narine will have to stay out and Kuldeep Yadav will have to lead the spin attack alongside one between Varun and Tambe.

To fit in Narine, one between Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna and Shivam Mavi will have to stand up to grab that spot in the pace lineup. Meanwhile, on batting tracks, Banton can be used in the top-order slot given his incredible form in T20 Blast.