IPL 2023: Rating Teams based on their final squads after auction

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction witnessed teams going all out to field a potent squad, which can stake a claim for top spots in the tournament. It was a terrific auction for a few teams, who aced their strategies on the table, while some failed to deliver on expected grounds. With total available slots of 87 players, 80 were used by franchises, while seven remained vacant. The English all-rounder Sam Curran emerged as the costliest acquisition in the event, followed by Cameron Green, and Ben Stokes. Here we rate of all the 10 IPL teams based on their final squads: 10. Punjab Kings – 6 Punjab Kings had a disappointing mini-auction, which sees them marking their presence in the 10th spot in this list. They released the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Odean Smith and Sandeep Sharma and had to fill up their replacements. Although the franchise shelled out a record amount of 18.5 Crore for Sam Curran, their other bids were not potent enough to fill out the gaps present in the team. They bought youngster Vidwath Kaverappa, who impressed in the 2022 domestic season. The team is little light on core experienced Indian pacers as well as spinners, who could be regular wicket-takers. They do not have any backups for Arshdeep Singh, or a quality replacement for Rahul Chahar, who didn't perform to the expectations in the last season. 9. Lucknow Super Giants - 6.5 The Lucknow-based franchise reached the playoffs in the 2022 edition, on the back of their openers and bowlers. The experienced duo of KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock will keep the team in a good stead in 2023 as well. In terms of their bowling options, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan and Krunal Pandya did well, while Mark Wood’s availability will boost them as well. However, the team lacked reliability and potency in the middle-order. The likes of Ayush Badoni and Marcus Stoinis were not consistent to provide a strong flourish for LSG. In the auction, they gave most of their purse to Caribbean skipper Nicholas Pooran to buy him for a hefty amount. Although they were impressive in securing experienced bowlers, the team missed the trick in the batting department. 8. Delhi Capitals - 6.5 Led by Rishabh Pant, DC could not reach the IPL 2022 playoffs due to their average bowling performances and lack of finishing abilities. In the batting department, Prithvi Shaw, David Warner and Rovman Powell did most of the things right for the franchise. Infact, Pant also contributed but could not convert his starts into big innings, which hurt team’s chances in close matches. Furthermore, they traded Shardul Thakur to Kolkata, but could not find his replacement in the auction. They were efficient in securing the services of Rilee Rossouw and Phil Salt as backups to injured Mitchell Marsh. But, they lack the presence of a quality pace-bowling all-rounder and an explosive Indian batter in the middle-order. 7. Royal Challengers Bangalore – 6.5 The Faf du Plessis-led side managed to seal the playoff place in the IPL 2022. But, they fell short in the Eliminator due to inconsistency in both departments. However, the management trusted most of the players for the 2023 season as well. In the auction table, there were only two picks by the franchise, which were prominent. English batter, Will Jacks and bowler Reece Topley were decent purchases by the RCB. However, the other five picks haven’t played in the IPL before and are more likely to warm benches. The last season witnessed Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj being a bit off-colour, but Josh Hazlewood and Wanindu Hasaranga were impressive. However, they should've looked for someone like Manish Pandey to strengthen their batting at five. As of now, Mahipal Lomror looks set to bat in that position. 6. Mumbai Indians – 7 Mumbai Indians had an average IPL 2023 auction, wherein they bought Cameron Green for 17.5 Crores. The all-rounder was impressive on his first white-ball Tour to India, and is touted by many as the next big thing in Australian cricket. Furthermore, they managed to bring in experienced spinners Piyush Chawla and Shams Mulani, which was much-needed for them in 2023. Further, Jhye Richardson was a steal at his base price due to his great form in the BBL 2022-23 and track record in T20s. The other purchases were fine, and are not likely to make it to the XI. Most of the spots in the XI were already filled, and the franchise did well to complete the puzzle. Rohit Sharma can bat in the middle-order, with Green opening with Ishan Kishan. This change will be worth seeing, as it can be a make or break for the franchise in the upcoming season. They have quality pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer in their ranks, which will help them in crunch moments but there is no enough backup for them. 5. Chennai Super Kings – 7.5 The most loved franchise in the tournament due to MS Dhoni were successful in buying England red-ball captain Ben Stokes. The southpaw is certainly a one-man army, that helped England to win the T20 World Cup final as well. Furthermore, if Deepak Chahar remains injury-free, while Ravindra Jadeja recovers ahead of the tournament, CSK are expected to be one of the top performers in IPL 2023. They have experienced top-order in Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway and Moeen Ali. The middle-order will constitute Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni, who are the proven performers in the tournament. However, they will need consistent scores from their power-packed squad to make it to the playoffs for 12th time. 4. Gujarat Titans – 8 The defending champions prevailed in tough situations due to their confidence and momentum. The all-around efforts saw them sealing the finale as well. The skipper Hardik Pandya led from the front, while batters and bowlers were in full sync with their performances. In most of the games, Pandya and David Miller were key scorers for the team, which helped them deliver well. However, the team struggled in a few patches like not finding a proper middle-order batter. Furthermore, Pandya’s absence in few matches put them under pressure to accelerate at right point of time. Although Kane Williamson is a decent buy due to his experience, the Kiwi batter is not in good form and is doubtful for the Starting XI. They did well to secure Shivam Mavi and Joshua Little, who are doing well this year. 3. Sunrisers Hyderabad - 8.5 Sunrisers Hyderabad released quite a few players ahead of the auction, which needed them to find a balanced squad. In particular, they had to secure quality batters and fast-bowling all-rounders, while they already had a good bowling line-up. Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal and Heinrich Klassen were some exceptional buys in the batting department. It is likely that Mayank will be leading the side in the IPL 2023 auction. Further, the second spinner in the XI could be Adil Rashid or Akeal Hosein, who would bowl in tandem with Washington Sundar. The proven performers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan are the definite starters in the XI. Further, the presence of Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek Sharma make SRH one of the contenders for the trophy. 2. Kolkata Knight Riders - 8.5 One of the strongest squads in the cash-rich league, Kolkata Knight Riders have most of their bases covered after the conclusion of the mini-auction. After releasing a plethora of top and middle-order batters, they need to build the batting order from the scratch. Some terrific top-order options for the team for IPL 2023 will be Rahmanullah Gurbaz, N Jagadeeshan and Litton Das. Further, Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana provide stability to the team. They have experienced all-rounders, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan and David Wiese, who would also be like-for-like replacements. Also, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee in the bowling unit are well suited to the Eden Gardens pitch as well. 1. Rajasthan Royals - 9 Rajasthan Royals finished as the runners-up in the 2022 season, and will surely back themselves to lift the trophy in the 2023 season. They now possess the strongest squad on paper after the completion of the auction. They already had a settled top-order and bowling line-up but still needed an all-rounder and a middle-order batter. The batter with a solid technique, Joe Root has emerged to be a top buy for the franchise, who can play an anchor role for the team. On the other hand, Jason Holder will be a boon to the side in terms of his all-round abilities and will provide them with a fifth bowling option. They have a reliable batting unit with the presence of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Further, they have a settled bowling unit in Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. They now have a third back-up spinner in Adam Zampa, who is one of the finest in the business.

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IPL 2023: Rating Teams based on their final squads after auction

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