IPL 2019 Auction: Top Players Each Franchise Should Bid for at the Upcoming Indian Premier League 12 Auctions

With not much time left for the Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019) auction to be held in Jaipur, the franchises are gearing up for a tough battle at the event. There is going to be a likely bidding war in order to get their favoured players. The strategies had been chalked out since the day the teams retained their core group of players but the jigsaw will be complete once the remaining players are picked up in the auction. They have been allotted a sum in their kitty and they will need to spend this money judiciously. A bidding war often inflates the player sum which is always a worry for franchises.

After careful analysis of the retained players and the composition, we have come up with a list of players the eight teams will look to buy in the coming IPL 2019 Auction. IPL Auction 2019 Date Confirmed: Indian Premier League Season 12 Players' Auction to Be Held on December 18 in Jaipur.

Mumbai Indians (MI)

Mumbai Indians were poor last season with the team not making it to the play-offs. Rohit Sharma’s team is known to make headline buys in auctions and is also one of the successful teams in IPL history. They have retained their core group of players and still have 11.15 crores in the kitty to spend on further addition. The key players that could make it to their squad are:

Axar Patel: The Gujarat all-rounder found himself out of the Kings XI Punjab team but could add value to the Mumbai Indians. Having years of IPL experience under his belt, Axar is a useful lower order batsman and on his day his four overs can be testing times for opposition batsman on slow turning pitches of India. IPL 2019: Over 1,000 Players Register for 70 Spots To Go Under Hammer at Indian Premier League 12 Auction on December 18

Carlos Brathwaite: The big-hitting West Indies all-rounder is the ideal replacement for Kerion Pollard who looks past his prime in terms of performances. Lack of game time at Sunrisers Hyderabad meant we could not see Carlos Brathwaite performing to his true potential. He did score 75 runs at a strike rate of 156.25 and took five wickets in the limited opportunity he had. But at a new club backed by Rohit Sharma things could change for good for the 2016 World T20 final hero.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

Perennial underachievers RCB finished sixth in the 2018 edition of IPL and have let go of some of the biggest names of T20 cricket like Brendon MuCullum, Corey Anderson, Quinto de Kock and Mandeep Singh. In order to replace these big guns, some of the players they can do with are:

Manoj Tiwari: RCB are in desperate need of a proper Indian batsman that can hold the middle order for them. Manoj Tiwari is the ideal candidate fitting this description with his wealth of experience playing for Bengal and a host of IPL teams. Virat Kohli’s men fall like ninepins against quality attacks and Manoj Tiwari is known to perform well in crunch situations.

Daniel Christian: The Australian bowling all-rounder has been playing in the IPL since 2011 despite some not so memorable performances. He has been in good form this season scoring 696 runs and picked up 25 wickets which means he is an ideal candidate to replace Kiwi all-rounder Corey Anderson.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings have retained their experienced lot of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Ravindra Jadeja. Their batting packs a punch and is their strong point so in this auction the Men in Yellow need some quality bowlers. The slot available to them is for two Indian players and it is highly likely they will snap up bowlers. IPL 2019 Auction: Yuvraj Singh to Play for CSK in the Indian Premier League 12?

Mohit Sharma: The fast bowler has played under MS Dhoni before for Chennai Super Kings and had a memorable first season, picking up 23 wickets in 15 games. Chennai invested in foreign imports in bowling department which did not do the trick and Mohit Sharma is a safe bet to put their money on.

Jaydev Unadkat: He may have not shown in Indian colours but when it comes to IPL cricket, Jaydev Unadkat is a more than a handful. He went for a whopping 11.5 crore in the last auction to Rajasthan Royals and picked up 11 wickets. While he may not fetch huge numbers this time, he could still invite a bidding war amongst the franchises.

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)

Kings XI Punjab have plenty to ponder in terms of team selection as they have few performers in the team. They need to add fire-power in the middle order as there is too much dependency on K L Rahul and Chris Gayle. Their batting is vulnerable to collapses and the two players that could help them resolve the problem are:

Alex Hales: English batsman Alex Hales has played close to 200 T20 matches and is known for his destructive batting. His inclusion in the team would mean K L Rahul can be pushed into the middle order to add more firepower. He will be the likely replacement for Aaron Finch who has been released by the Kings XI Punjab.

Shimron Hetmyer: One of the new kids on the block, the West Indies batsman has all the qualities to succeed in the IPL. He scored a ton in the recently concluded series in India and showed glimpses of how good he can be in the Indian conditions. He is only 21 but plays with great composure, qualities which Punjab can benefit from.

Delhi Capitals (DC)

The Delhi Daredevils are now Delhi Capitals and hoping a change in name will bring change in fortunes. They have released nine players including the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Jason Roy. They will need to add some firepower up top and a good bowler will only add stability to the team. The players they would like to add are: Delhi Daredevils Renamed as 'Delhi Capitals' Ahead of Indian Premier League 2019 Auction in Jaipur on December 18!

D’Arcy Short: One of the most promising Australian T20 players currently, D’Arcy Short would be a good addition to the Delhi team. He has scored 1400 runs in 45 T20 games which paints a very rosy picture about his capabilities. Short can be used for his destructive role up top to add dynamism to the Delhi Capitals batting.

Barinder Saran: The one thing every IPL team needs is a good Indian pace attack and Delhi Capitals are no different. Barinder Saran is going to invite quite a bidding with the pacer averaging 25 in 37 T20 games. He could only learn from the likes of Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada and get even better helping his side in middle overs.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Two-time champions KKR are known for the headline buys in each auction. Last time they picked up skipper Dinesh Kartik and Nitish Rana who were quite efficient with their displays. They have retained their evergreen players like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine but still, have a whopping 15.20 crore in the kitty to spend. Player likely to come in is:

Chris Woakes: The English cricketer had a gala time in 2017 with KKR where he picked up 17 wickets in 13 games. A move to RCB did not turn fruitful in 2018 and a return to KKR will once again work in favour of both parties. He can also bat a bit lower down which makes him a very handy buy.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

The Sunrisers Hyderabad always perform well and are one of the few teams build on domestic players. The release of Shikhar Dhawan did raise an eyebrow but David Warner’s return after serving his one year ban will be a massive lift. The players likely to add more value to their star-studded line up are : IPL 2019 Auctions: Richard Madley to Miss the Event; Says He Has Been ‘Dropped’.

Corey Anderson: Corey Anderson will come in to replace Carlos Braithwaite and may cost less than the West Indies all-rounder. The New Zealand player has been around IPL for quite some time now and his experience will add value to this team. He has played 124 T20 games and has taken 32 wickets and also has a batting average of 27.79 which is decent for the shorter format of the game.

Sarfaraz Khan: If there is one team that gets the best out of the domestic talents, it is the Sunrisers Hyderabad. It will be good for Sarfaraz Khan to move from RCB to Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has got few chances to flourish and a new team will bode well for the talented lower order batsman.

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Rajasthan Royals under Ajinkya Rahane did well to finish fourth in the last IPL but they lacked impact players in their teams. They have released ten players from their team and are looking to restructure their squad. The two players they will love to buy in the auction are:

Brendon MuCullum: Lack of game time last season and his subsequent release from RCB means the New Zealand great is looking for a fresh start. He will be a good addition to the Rajasthan Royals with his hard-hitting batting at the top which the team is in desperate need of. He has scored more than 300 runs in every season barring the last IPL.

Mohammed Shami: Indian pacer Mohammed Shami was plagued by personal issues last season and was subsequently released by Delhi Capitals. In Rajasthan, he can be an ideal replacement for Jaydev Unadkat and on his day is a proven match winner. He will also be eager to remove the Test label tag on him which is hampering his limited overs career in cricket.

These are the players we feel can move to the eight IPL franchises and could be the headline makers. It will also be interesting to see the price at which these players move with a budget constraint.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 11, 2018 04:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).