The Mega auction for the much anticipated IPL 2022 is knocking at our doors. After stipulations of it being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the auction is finally set to take place in Bengaluru on 12th and 13th February as was initially planned.
The teams will be provided with the entire list of players that are set to take part in IPL 2022’s Mega auction so that they can strategize their bids accordingly.
All the teams will rebuild their teams almost entirely in the Mega auction as according to the rules of IPL 2022, the 8 core teams have had to let go of their full squads from last season with the exception of their 4 maximum retained players (some teams retained two players only). The new teams, on the other hand, have drafted 3 players each.
A big bulk of the Team formations are yet to be done which makes the upcoming Mega auctions so important and also interesting for the fans as well as for the respective teams.
Let us now take a look at the updated squad and the probable strategies for Mega Auctions for each IPL team.
1. Chennai Super Kings
Updated Squad List
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni
- Moeen Ali
- Ruturaj Gaikwad
CSK’s Strategy for Mega Auction
With the retention that CSK have made, they are already sorted in the opening, finishing and wicket keeping departments and they will thus have to look for bowlers and middle order batters mainly. Their former man Faf du Plessis is a choice that they might look up to. In that case he shall open alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali will come in at number 3. The other options CSK can consider are Ishan Kishan (for his batting skills), Devdutt Padikkal and their former man Ambati Rayudu.
Among the bowlers, CSK will probably go all out for their former man Shardul Thakur as he has had a brilliant run with the national team and Deepak Chahar who was Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s go to death overs bowler. To sum it up, Chennai Super Kings will probably target their old set of players as that is what they are known for doing.
2. Mumbai Indians
Updated Squad List
- Rohit Sharma
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Kieron Pollard
MI’s Strategy for Mega Auction
Mumbai Indians have lost some of their biggest stars ahead of IPL 2022 as they could retain only 4 players. Hardik Pandya has already been drafted by the Ahmedabad franchise and thus in no way is he returning to Mumbai. Fortunately the players like Trent Boult, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Chahar will be available in the Mega auction and Mumbai Indians will look to buy them back.
Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kagiso Rabada are some good replacement options for Trent Boult whereas Yuzvendra Chahal or Ravichandran Ashwin can prove to be a perfect replacement for Rahul Chahar if Mumbai are unable to land these two players.
Apart from them, KS Bharat might be a good buy for them as they are also in need of a good Wicket keeper after Quinton de Kock’s departure. Tamil Nadu player Shahrukh Khan can be a good replacement for Hardik Pandya to assume the role of the finisher.
3. Punjab Kings
Updated Squad List
- Mayank Agarwal
- Arshdeep Singh
PBKS’ Strategy for Mega Auction
Punjab Kings will be in search of a captain in the inability of which they will have to make Mayank Agarwal their new skipper. David Warner and Shreyas Iyer are two options that all the captain-less teams will be looking forward to and Punjab Kings are no exception.
Punjab has the biggest purse among all the IPL teams but they also have the most number of players to buy. They will probably fill in their spots with some of the star players and then compliment them with a bunch of youngsters as has been the general strategy of Punjab Kings over the years.
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore
Updated Squad List
- Virat Kohli
- Glen Maxwell
- Mohammad Siraj
RCB’s Strategy for Mega Auction
David Warner and Shreyas Iyer have already been linked to RCB and they will reportedly go all out to attain at least one of these two players to fill in their captaincy spots.
Devdutt Padikkal and Yuzvendra Chahal are two ex players that they will look to get back in the Auction but Rahul Chahar can also be a good replacement for Chahal. On the other hand India U19 star Harnoor Singh can be brought in as a surprise element to replace Devdutt Padikkal.
Among the bowlers, Trent Boult will definitely be a player that RCB will be ready to acquire. RCB have always struggled because of their poor bowling setup and this is their chance to correct that flaw.
5. Rajasthan Royals
Updated Squad List
- Sanju Samson
- Jos Buttler
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
RR’s Strategy for Mega Auction
After the retention, Rajasthan Royals have nothing to worry about in their top order. They will therefore go after all rounders, finishers and bowlers in the Mega Auction. Star bowlers like Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Lockie Ferguson will be under their radar.
On the other hand, all rounders like Krunal Pandya, Mitchell Marsh, Mohammad Nabi and Shakib Al Hasan will also be targeted by Rajasthan Royals.
They will also look to get back some of their fast bowlers like Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya and Karthik Tyagi.
6. Sunrisers Hyderabad
Updated Squad List
- Kane Williamson
- Abdul Samad
- Umran Malik
SRH’s Strategy for Mega Auction
Sunrisers Hyderabad had one of their worst campaigns ever in IPL 2021. They will thus try to redeem themselves in the Mega Auction of IPL 2022. Hyderabad have retained one batsman, one all rounder and one fast bowler and thus have almost their entire squad to be built in the Mega auction.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Shakib Al Hasan and Ishan Kishan are some players that Sunrisers Hyderabad can go for.
SRH have always had the best fast bowling unit in all of IPL and they will look to regain that reputation after the Mega auction.
7. Delhi Capitals
Updated Squad List
- Rishabh Pant
- Axar Patel
- Prithvi Shaw
- Anrich Nortje
DC’s Strategy for Mega Auction
Delhi Capitals have probably had the best retention. With one player from each department already sorted, Delhi will now look to strengthen them one by one.
Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shikhar Dhawan are the three ex-players that DC will want to get back but apart from that they are likely to buy fill in their ranks with ne recruits.
8. Kolkata Knight Riders
Updated Squad List
- Andre Russell
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Sunil Narine
KKR’s Strategy for Mega Auction
In the recent past, KKR have preferred buying young Indian players and they will probably do that this time too. The Under 19 World Cup is currently being played and the KKR management will have an eye on it. Indian youngsters like Harnoor Sing, Yash Dhull, Sheikh Rasheed, etc will definitely be under the radar of Kolkata Knight Riders.
But apart from that KKR also need a good captain. According to reports they have all eyes set to buy Shreyas Iyer in the Mega auction to hand over the captaincy to him.
KKR will also have to find some good pacers, preferably Indian as they already have two overseas starters in Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.
9. Lucknow Franchise
Updated Squad List
- KL Rahul
- Marcus Stoinis
- Ravi Bishnoi
Lucknow’s Strategy for Mega Auction
Lucknow Franchise has had three decent draft picks which they will want to add to in the IPL Auction. Being a new franchise, Lucknow are but a blank slate and their strategy will be hard to predict. But given their current squad it can be predicted that Lucknow will go all out for some top notch batters and some pace bowlers.
10. Ahmedabad Franchise
Updated Squad List
- Hardik Pandya
- Rashid Khan
- Shubman Gill
Ahmedabad’s Strategy for Mega Auction
Like Lucknow, Ahmedabad are also a new side and their strategy will be hard to predict. However they have already had some star studded draft picks namely Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill – three players that are the bests in their respective departments.
They now need a bunch of pacers and some batsmen and if they are able to do so, Ahmedabad might have the best squad in IPL 2022.
Also Read:- Top 10 All-Rounders in IPL 2022 Mega Auction.