The mega-auction of the <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/">Indian Premier League</a> </strong>(IPL) is done and dusted as all the eight teams looked happy after building a decent squad around their core and retained players. The two-day event threw a lot of surprises with the international cricketers ruling the first day. While the Indian domestic players had the last laugh on a concluding day as the performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy were rewarded with a huge IPL contract by the franchises.

Ben Stokes was the most expensive player of the lot as he was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 12.5 Crore. Jaydev Unadkat took the honours in the Indian contingent as he too went for the same franchise as they paid him a whopping amount of Rs. 11.5 Crore. The uncapped players like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ishan-kishan-appointed-jharkhand-captain-vijay-hazare-trophy/"><strong>Ishan Kishan</strong></a>, Krishnappa Gowtham were also the hot picks of the auction. In the end, a total of 169 players were sold across eight teams out of 578 who were supposed to go under the hammer.

Soon after the auctions, CricTracker conducted a fan poll on our official Facebook handle and asked them to pick the best IPL side. The poll received a huge response as it was a close tussle between the teams to take the honours.

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Rajasthan-Royals.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217441" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Rajasthan-Royals.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217441" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

According to the fans, Rajasthan Royals didn&#8217;t have the best side for the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 league. They are returning after the gap of two years as the franchise was suspended for their alleged involvement in the spot-fixing saga in 2013. Though they were shelling out some big money over the players and have almost replicated Rising Pune Supergiant squad which had replaced them for a couple of years.

Steve Smith will lead the side which also consists the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Ben Stokes. The bowling attack will be led by Jaydev Unadkat who was the most expensive Indian player in the auction. Royals also managed to snap up Jos Buttler who is touted as one of the best limited overs wicket-keeper currently. Jofra Archer, the man who has lit up the ongoing <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/bbl-big-bash-league/"><strong>Big Bash League (BBL)</strong></a>, will also play for Rajasthan in his maiden IPL stint. Overall, this team has all the ingredients to do well in the upcoming tournament.

<strong>7. Kolkata Knight Riders: 7%</strong>

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Kolkata-Knight-Riders.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217439" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Kolkata-Knight-Riders.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217439" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

It was surprising to see the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders is the second worst IPL side for the fans. Only 7% of the voters were in favour of the franchise who felt KKR is the best side after the auction. There is a possibility that many of them might have been miffed over the fact they released the skipper Gautam Gambhir. Moreover, they&#8217;ve also not picked any player who could be tipped as a perfect captain material in the 19-man squad.

KKR has invested in the gun players like Chris Lynn, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/mitchell-starc-becomes-the-most-expensive-foreign-player-for-kkr/"><strong>Mitchell Starc</strong></a> and Robin Uthappa. They have as many as three U19 players, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi, currently featuring in the ongoing World Cup. The bowling attack is the most lethal for KKR as they possess the likes of Sunil Narine, Mitchell Johnson, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar and Starc. Though it would be interesting to see whom they make the captain for the upcoming season.

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Delhi-Daredevils.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217437" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Delhi-Daredevils.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217437" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Delhi Daredevils who will be coached by Ricky Ponting is the 6th best team on paper after the auction. As many as 10% of the cricket fans voted for them. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/fake-fb-wall-gautam-gambhir-and-kolkata-knight-riders-fall-apart/"><strong>Gautam Gambhir</strong></a> is back to where he belongs and will lead the young looking team which also includes some amazing T20 players as well. Glenn Maxwell was the most expensive player picked by them who was followed by Kagiso Rabada. Daniel Christian, Jason Roy, Trent Boult and Colin Munro are the other overseas players who will feature for Daredevils.

But the heart of the team is the Indian contingent as they&#8217;ve continued keeping their faith on them. DD retained Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer along with Chris Morris which surprised everyone. They built a decent side around them and most importantly picked the perfect captain in Gambhir. They also boast the experience of Shahbaz Nadeem and Amit Mishra in the spin department who will be assisted by young Abhishek Sharma. Even India U19 batsman Prithvi Shaw will don the jersey for Delhi and would look the make the most of the opportunity.

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Kings-XI-Punjab.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217438" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Kings-XI-Punjab.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217438" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Kings XI Punjab was the most active franchise in the auction trying to buy every possible player to go under the hammer. In the end, they managed to build a decent squad of 20 players as 12% voters went with them and hoped that they win the coveted trophy this time around. Punjab side boasts of some T20 superstars like Yuvraj Singh and Chris Gayle who can tear apart any opposition on their day. Even the likes of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/aaron-finch-is-all-excited-to-join-the-kings-xi-punjab/"><strong>Aaron Finch</strong></a>, Glenn Maxwell and David Miller would be in the dressing room as the team combination is looking great for them.

KL Rahul and R Ashwin were the top two expensive picks of the franchise as they would be key to their fortunes during the tournament. They had retained only Axar Patel and cleverly used their RTM cards for David Miller, Marcus Stoinis and Mohit Sharma. Virender Sehwag is the mentor of the team and surely his inputs would be helpful for the team as KXIP chase their maiden IPL title.

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Mumbai-Indians.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217440" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mumbai-Indians.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217440" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Mumbai Indians, the defending and three-time IPL champions, tied with KXIP in terms of the votes went in their favour and are also the fourth best side according to the fans. Rohit Sharma will continue to lead the side undoubtedly as Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya was also retained alongside him. They used their RTM cards for Kieron Pollard and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2018-auction-krunal-pandya-becomes-highest-paid-uncapped-player/"><strong>Krunal Pandya</strong></a> and formed the core of the side perfectly. They bolstered their bowling attack by picking Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman, Ben Cutting and Pradeep Sangwan.

They will miss the experience of Lasith Malinga who was with the franchise for a long time. Even they let go of Harbhajan Singh who played for them the whole decade. They went for Akila Dananjaya in the auction to replace him and have kept faith on the domestic players in the spin department. Evin Lewis and JP Duminy were the other smart buys from them as MI would be eager to defend their title.

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Sunrisers-Hyderabad.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217443" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Sunrisers-Hyderabad.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217443" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Sunrisers Hyderabad is the third best IPL side after the auction as 16% fans voted for them. Certainly, the franchise was the smartest of them all making some decent buys going for impact players and not on reputation. David Warner will be the leader of the pack as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also retained with him. They used RTMs for Rashid Khan, Deepak Hooda and Shikhar Dhawan which makes them one of the strongest sides in the tournament.

Moreover, SRH also picked the all-rounders like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/yusuf-pathan-expresses-his-elation-as-he-joins-the-orange-army/"><strong>Yusuf Pathan</strong></a>, Shakib Al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite and Mohammad Nabi which should bode well for the team. The striking thing though was their persistence with the Indian pace bowlers. Billy Stanlake is the only overseas fast bowler in the squad as the likes of Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi among others make up the pace attack. The team looks absolutely strong as all the sides should be wary of the underdogs this year who has won the title before in 2016.

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Royal-Challengers-Bangalore.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217442" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Royal-Challengers-Bangalore.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217442" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Royal Challengers Bangalore just pipped SRH as they garnered a total of 17% votes which is mostly due to the huge fan base which they possess. When the team has players like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/virender-sehwag-reckons-ms-dhonis-presence-in-odis-is-a-benefit-for-virat-kohli/"><strong>Virat Kohli</strong></a>, AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum, they will surely be touted as one of the most dangerous teams. It was surprising that they didn&#8217;t even bid for Chris Gayle who has won them so many matches in the past with his whirlwind knocks. Though they&#8217;re looking a formidable unit this time around after bolstering their bowling attack.

Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile are the few of them and will be assisted by the likes of Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini and Aniket Choudhury. RCB used RTM card for Yuzvendra Chahal which was expected and they also backed Pawan Negi to do the job for them this year. However, the only question is can they deliver as a team now after being lacklustre last year. The silverware has always been away from RCB and they would be eyeing to achieve it in the eleventh edition of the league.

<a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Chennai-Super-Kings.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217435" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Chennai-Super-Kings.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217435" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Chennai Super Kings returns to the IPL fray and in style. They have topped the charts and as many as 21% of votes have gone their way. Though the experts felt they missed the trick in the auction, their fans have gone either way and have tipped them as the best IPL side after the auction. They are the only team to qualify for the playoffs in every season CSK has played. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/jk-cricketer-manzoor-dar-wishes-emulate-ms-dhoni/"><strong>MS Dhoni</strong></a> is the best captain of India and is once again back at the helm for the franchise.

CSK retained Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja along with Dhoni and used RTM card for Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo. These 5 players have the capability of changing the game on its head. The two-time champions also shelled out a huge amount for Kedar Jadhav and backed Shane Watson to come good as well. Harbhajan Singh will play under Dhoni this year and they are once again the favourites to lift the title for the third time. It remains to be seen if they will be able to do it with a different bunch of players.

<p>The mega-auction of the <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/">Indian Premier League</a> </strong>(IPL) is done and dusted as all the eight teams looked happy after building a decent squad around their core and retained players. The two-day event threw a lot of surprises with the international cricketers ruling the first day. While the Indian domestic players had the last laugh on a concluding day as the performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy were rewarded with a huge IPL contract by the franchises.</p>
<p>Ben Stokes was the most expensive player of the lot as he was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 12.5 Crore. Jaydev Unadkat took the honours in the Indian contingent as he too went for the same franchise as they paid him a whopping amount of Rs. 11.5 Crore. The uncapped players like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ishan-kishan-appointed-jharkhand-captain-vijay-hazare-trophy/"><strong>Ishan Kishan</strong></a>, Krishnappa Gowtham were also the hot picks of the auction. In the end, a total of 169 players were sold across eight teams out of 578 who were supposed to go under the hammer.</p>
<p>Soon after the auctions, CricTracker conducted a fan poll on our official Facebook handle and asked them to pick the best IPL side. The poll received a huge response as it was a close tussle between the teams to take the honours.</p>
<h3>Here are the results of the poll:</h3>
<h3>8. Rajasthan Royals: <strong>5%</strong></h3>
<figure id="attachment_217441" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217441" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Rajasthan-Royals.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-217441" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Rajasthan-Royals.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217441" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>According to the fans, Rajasthan Royals didn’t have the best side for the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 league. They are returning after the gap of two years as the franchise was suspended for their alleged involvement in the spot-fixing saga in 2013. Though they were shelling out some big money over the players and have almost replicated Rising Pune Supergiant squad which had replaced them for a couple of years.</p>
<p>Steve Smith will lead the side which also consists the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Ben Stokes. The bowling attack will be led by Jaydev Unadkat who was the most expensive Indian player in the auction. Royals also managed to snap up Jos Buttler who is touted as one of the best limited overs wicket-keeper currently. Jofra Archer, the man who has lit up the ongoing <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/bbl-big-bash-league/"><strong>Big Bash League (BBL)</strong></a>, will also play for Rajasthan in his maiden IPL stint. Overall, this team has all the ingredients to do well in the upcoming tournament.</p>
<h3><strong>7. Kolkata Knight Riders: 7%</strong></h3>
<figure id="attachment_217439" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217439" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Kolkata-Knight-Riders.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-217439" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Kolkata-Knight-Riders.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217439" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>It was surprising to see the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders is the second worst IPL side for the fans. Only 7% of the voters were in favour of the franchise who felt KKR is the best side after the auction. There is a possibility that many of them might have been miffed over the fact they released the skipper Gautam Gambhir. Moreover, they’ve also not picked any player who could be tipped as a perfect captain material in the 19-man squad.</p>
<p>KKR has invested in the gun players like Chris Lynn, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/mitchell-starc-becomes-the-most-expensive-foreign-player-for-kkr/"><strong>Mitchell Starc</strong></a> and Robin Uthappa. They have as many as three U19 players, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi, currently featuring in the ongoing World Cup. The bowling attack is the most lethal for KKR as they possess the likes of Sunil Narine, Mitchell Johnson, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar and Starc. Though it would be interesting to see whom they make the captain for the upcoming season.</p>
<h3>6. Delhi Daredevils: 10%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217437" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217437" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Delhi-Daredevils.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-217437" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Delhi-Daredevils.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217437" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Delhi Daredevils who will be coached by Ricky Ponting is the 6th best team on paper after the auction. As many as 10% of the cricket fans voted for them. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/fake-fb-wall-gautam-gambhir-and-kolkata-knight-riders-fall-apart/"><strong>Gautam Gambhir</strong></a> is back to where he belongs and will lead the young looking team which also includes some amazing T20 players as well. Glenn Maxwell was the most expensive player picked by them who was followed by Kagiso Rabada. Daniel Christian, Jason Roy, Trent Boult and Colin Munro are the other overseas players who will feature for Daredevils.</p>
<p>But the heart of the team is the Indian contingent as they’ve continued keeping their faith on them. DD retained Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer along with Chris Morris which surprised everyone. They built a decent side around them and most importantly picked the perfect captain in Gambhir. They also boast the experience of Shahbaz Nadeem and Amit Mishra in the spin department who will be assisted by young Abhishek Sharma. Even India U19 batsman Prithvi Shaw will don the jersey for Delhi and would look the make the most of the opportunity.</p>
<h3>4. Kings XI Punjab: 12%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217438" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217438" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Kings-XI-Punjab.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-217438" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Kings-XI-Punjab.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217438" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Kings XI Punjab was the most active franchise in the auction trying to buy every possible player to go under the hammer. In the end, they managed to build a decent squad of 20 players as 12% voters went with them and hoped that they win the coveted trophy this time around. Punjab side boasts of some T20 superstars like Yuvraj Singh and Chris Gayle who can tear apart any opposition on their day. Even the likes of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/aaron-finch-is-all-excited-to-join-the-kings-xi-punjab/"><strong>Aaron Finch</strong></a>, Glenn Maxwell and David Miller would be in the dressing room as the team combination is looking great for them.</p>
<p>KL Rahul and R Ashwin were the top two expensive picks of the franchise as they would be key to their fortunes during the tournament. They had retained only Axar Patel and cleverly used their RTM cards for David Miller, Marcus Stoinis and Mohit Sharma. Virender Sehwag is the mentor of the team and surely his inputs would be helpful for the team as KXIP chase their maiden IPL title.</p>
<h3>4. Mumbai Indians: 12%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217440" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217440" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Mumbai-Indians.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-217440" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mumbai-Indians.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217440" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Mumbai Indians, the defending and three-time IPL champions, tied with KXIP in terms of the votes went in their favour and are also the fourth best side according to the fans. Rohit Sharma will continue to lead the side undoubtedly as Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya was also retained alongside him. They used their RTM cards for Kieron Pollard and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2018-auction-krunal-pandya-becomes-highest-paid-uncapped-player/"><strong>Krunal Pandya</strong></a> and formed the core of the side perfectly. They bolstered their bowling attack by picking Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman, Ben Cutting and Pradeep Sangwan.</p>
<p>They will miss the experience of Lasith Malinga who was with the franchise for a long time. Even they let go of Harbhajan Singh who played for them the whole decade. They went for Akila Dananjaya in the auction to replace him and have kept faith on the domestic players in the spin department. Evin Lewis and JP Duminy were the other smart buys from them as MI would be eager to defend their title.</p>
<h3>3. Sunrisers Hyderabad: 16%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217443" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217443" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Sunrisers-Hyderabad.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-217443" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Sunrisers-Hyderabad.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217443" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Sunrisers Hyderabad is the third best IPL side after the auction as 16% fans voted for them. Certainly, the franchise was the smartest of them all making some decent buys going for impact players and not on reputation. David Warner will be the leader of the pack as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also retained with him. They used RTMs for Rashid Khan, Deepak Hooda and Shikhar Dhawan which makes them one of the strongest sides in the tournament.</p>
<p>Moreover, SRH also picked the all-rounders like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/yusuf-pathan-expresses-his-elation-as-he-joins-the-orange-army/"><strong>Yusuf Pathan</strong></a>, Shakib Al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite and Mohammad Nabi which should bode well for the team. The striking thing though was their persistence with the Indian pace bowlers. Billy Stanlake is the only overseas fast bowler in the squad as the likes of Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi among others make up the pace attack. The team looks absolutely strong as all the sides should be wary of the underdogs this year who has won the title before in 2016.</p>
<h3>2. Royal Challengers Bangalore: 17%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217442" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217442" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Royal-Challengers-Bangalore.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-217442" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Royal-Challengers-Bangalore.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217442" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Royal Challengers Bangalore just pipped SRH as they garnered a total of 17% votes which is mostly due to the huge fan base which they possess. When the team has players like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/virender-sehwag-reckons-ms-dhonis-presence-in-odis-is-a-benefit-for-virat-kohli/"><strong>Virat Kohli</strong></a>, AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum, they will surely be touted as one of the most dangerous teams. It was surprising that they didn’t even bid for Chris Gayle who has won them so many matches in the past with his whirlwind knocks. Though they’re looking a formidable unit this time around after bolstering their bowling attack.</p>
<p>Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile are the few of them and will be assisted by the likes of Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini and Aniket Choudhury. RCB used RTM card for Yuzvendra Chahal which was expected and they also backed Pawan Negi to do the job for them this year. However, the only question is can they deliver as a team now after being lacklustre last year. The silverware has always been away from RCB and they would be eyeing to achieve it in the eleventh edition of the league.</p>
<h3>1. Chennai Super Kings: 21%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217435" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217435" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Chennai-Super-Kings.jpg"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-217435" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Chennai-Super-Kings.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217435" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Chennai Super Kings returns to the IPL fray and in style. They have topped the charts and as many as 21% of votes have gone their way. Though the experts felt they missed the trick in the auction, their fans have gone either way and have tipped them as the best IPL side after the auction. They are the only team to qualify for the playoffs in every season CSK has played. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/jk-cricketer-manzoor-dar-wishes-emulate-ms-dhoni/"><strong>MS Dhoni</strong></a> is the best captain of India and is once again back at the helm for the franchise.</p>
<p>CSK retained Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja along with Dhoni and used RTM card for Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo. These 5 players have the capability of changing the game on its head. The two-time champions also shelled out a huge amount for Kedar Jadhav and backed Shane Watson to come good as well. Harbhajan Singh will play under Dhoni this year and they are once again the favourites to lift the title for the third time. It remains to be seen if they will be able to do it with a different bunch of players.</p>
<h3>Here’s the Facebook poll:</h3>
<p><amp-facebook layout="responsive" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/crictracker/posts/1930450096985702" data-embed-as="post" height="615" width="500"></amp-facebook></p>

<p>The mega-auction of the <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/category/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/">Indian Premier League</a> </strong>(IPL) is done and dusted as all the eight teams looked happy after building a decent squad around their core and retained players. The two-day event threw a lot of surprises with the international cricketers ruling the first day. While the Indian domestic players had the last laugh on a concluding day as the performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy were rewarded with a huge IPL contract by the franchises.</p>
<p>Ben Stokes was the most expensive player of the lot as he was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 12.5 Crore. Jaydev Unadkat took the honours in the Indian contingent as he too went for the same franchise as they paid him a whopping amount of Rs. 11.5 Crore. The uncapped players like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ishan-kishan-appointed-jharkhand-captain-vijay-hazare-trophy/"><strong>Ishan Kishan</strong></a>, Krishnappa Gowtham were also the hot picks of the auction. In the end, a total of 169 players were sold across eight teams out of 578 who were supposed to go under the hammer.</p>
<p>Soon after the auctions, CricTracker conducted a fan poll on our official Facebook handle and asked them to pick the best IPL side. The poll received a huge response as it was a close tussle between the teams to take the honours.</p>
<h3>Here are the results of the poll:</h3>
<h3>8. Rajasthan Royals: <strong>5%</strong></h3>
<figure id="attachment_217441" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217441" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Rajasthan-Royals.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217441" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Rajasthan-Royals.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217441" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>According to the fans, Rajasthan Royals didn&#8217;t have the best side for the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 league. They are returning after the gap of two years as the franchise was suspended for their alleged involvement in the spot-fixing saga in 2013. Though they were shelling out some big money over the players and have almost replicated Rising Pune Supergiant squad which had replaced them for a couple of years.</p>
<p>Steve Smith will lead the side which also consists the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Ben Stokes. The bowling attack will be led by Jaydev Unadkat who was the most expensive Indian player in the auction. Royals also managed to snap up Jos Buttler who is touted as one of the best limited overs wicket-keeper currently. Jofra Archer, the man who has lit up the ongoing <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/bbl-big-bash-league/"><strong>Big Bash League (BBL)</strong></a>, will also play for Rajasthan in his maiden IPL stint. Overall, this team has all the ingredients to do well in the upcoming tournament.</p>
<h3><strong>7. Kolkata Knight Riders: 7%</strong></h3>
<figure id="attachment_217439" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217439" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Kolkata-Knight-Riders.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217439" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Kolkata-Knight-Riders.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217439" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>It was surprising to see the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders is the second worst IPL side for the fans. Only 7% of the voters were in favour of the franchise who felt KKR is the best side after the auction. There is a possibility that many of them might have been miffed over the fact they released the skipper Gautam Gambhir. Moreover, they&#8217;ve also not picked any player who could be tipped as a perfect captain material in the 19-man squad.</p>
<p>KKR has invested in the gun players like Chris Lynn, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/mitchell-starc-becomes-the-most-expensive-foreign-player-for-kkr/"><strong>Mitchell Starc</strong></a> and Robin Uthappa. They have as many as three U19 players, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi, currently featuring in the ongoing World Cup. The bowling attack is the most lethal for KKR as they possess the likes of Sunil Narine, Mitchell Johnson, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar and Starc. Though it would be interesting to see whom they make the captain for the upcoming season.</p>
<h3>6. Delhi Daredevils: 10%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217437" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217437" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Delhi-Daredevils.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217437" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Delhi-Daredevils.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217437" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Delhi Daredevils who will be coached by Ricky Ponting is the 6th best team on paper after the auction. As many as 10% of the cricket fans voted for them. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/fake-fb-wall-gautam-gambhir-and-kolkata-knight-riders-fall-apart/"><strong>Gautam Gambhir</strong></a> is back to where he belongs and will lead the young looking team which also includes some amazing T20 players as well. Glenn Maxwell was the most expensive player picked by them who was followed by Kagiso Rabada. Daniel Christian, Jason Roy, Trent Boult and Colin Munro are the other overseas players who will feature for Daredevils.</p>
<p>But the heart of the team is the Indian contingent as they&#8217;ve continued keeping their faith on them. DD retained Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer along with Chris Morris which surprised everyone. They built a decent side around them and most importantly picked the perfect captain in Gambhir. They also boast the experience of Shahbaz Nadeem and Amit Mishra in the spin department who will be assisted by young Abhishek Sharma. Even India U19 batsman Prithvi Shaw will don the jersey for Delhi and would look the make the most of the opportunity.</p>
<h3>4. Kings XI Punjab: 12%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217438" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217438" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Kings-XI-Punjab.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217438" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Kings-XI-Punjab.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217438" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Kings XI Punjab was the most active franchise in the auction trying to buy every possible player to go under the hammer. In the end, they managed to build a decent squad of 20 players as 12% voters went with them and hoped that they win the coveted trophy this time around. Punjab side boasts of some T20 superstars like Yuvraj Singh and Chris Gayle who can tear apart any opposition on their day. Even the likes of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/aaron-finch-is-all-excited-to-join-the-kings-xi-punjab/"><strong>Aaron Finch</strong></a>, Glenn Maxwell and David Miller would be in the dressing room as the team combination is looking great for them.</p>
<p>KL Rahul and R Ashwin were the top two expensive picks of the franchise as they would be key to their fortunes during the tournament. They had retained only Axar Patel and cleverly used their RTM cards for David Miller, Marcus Stoinis and Mohit Sharma. Virender Sehwag is the mentor of the team and surely his inputs would be helpful for the team as KXIP chase their maiden IPL title.</p>
<h3>4. Mumbai Indians: 12%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217440" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217440" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Mumbai-Indians.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217440" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mumbai-Indians.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217440" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Mumbai Indians, the defending and three-time IPL champions, tied with KXIP in terms of the votes went in their favour and are also the fourth best side according to the fans. Rohit Sharma will continue to lead the side undoubtedly as Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya was also retained alongside him. They used their RTM cards for Kieron Pollard and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2018-auction-krunal-pandya-becomes-highest-paid-uncapped-player/"><strong>Krunal Pandya</strong></a> and formed the core of the side perfectly. They bolstered their bowling attack by picking Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman, Ben Cutting and Pradeep Sangwan.</p>
<p>They will miss the experience of Lasith Malinga who was with the franchise for a long time. Even they let go of Harbhajan Singh who played for them the whole decade. They went for Akila Dananjaya in the auction to replace him and have kept faith on the domestic players in the spin department. Evin Lewis and JP Duminy were the other smart buys from them as MI would be eager to defend their title.</p>
<h3>3. Sunrisers Hyderabad: 16%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217443" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217443" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Sunrisers-Hyderabad.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217443" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Sunrisers-Hyderabad.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217443" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Sunrisers Hyderabad is the third best IPL side after the auction as 16% fans voted for them. Certainly, the franchise was the smartest of them all making some decent buys going for impact players and not on reputation. David Warner will be the leader of the pack as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also retained with him. They used RTMs for Rashid Khan, Deepak Hooda and Shikhar Dhawan which makes them one of the strongest sides in the tournament.</p>
<p>Moreover, SRH also picked the all-rounders like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/yusuf-pathan-expresses-his-elation-as-he-joins-the-orange-army/"><strong>Yusuf Pathan</strong></a>, Shakib Al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite and Mohammad Nabi which should bode well for the team. The striking thing though was their persistence with the Indian pace bowlers. Billy Stanlake is the only overseas fast bowler in the squad as the likes of Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi among others make up the pace attack. The team looks absolutely strong as all the sides should be wary of the underdogs this year who has won the title before in 2016.</p>
<h3>2. Royal Challengers Bangalore: 17%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217442" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217442" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Royal-Challengers-Bangalore.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217442" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Royal-Challengers-Bangalore.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217442" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Royal Challengers Bangalore just pipped SRH as they garnered a total of 17% votes which is mostly due to the huge fan base which they possess. When the team has players like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/virender-sehwag-reckons-ms-dhonis-presence-in-odis-is-a-benefit-for-virat-kohli/"><strong>Virat Kohli</strong></a>, AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum, they will surely be touted as one of the most dangerous teams. It was surprising that they didn&#8217;t even bid for Chris Gayle who has won them so many matches in the past with his whirlwind knocks. Though they&#8217;re looking a formidable unit this time around after bolstering their bowling attack.</p>
<p>Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile are the few of them and will be assisted by the likes of Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini and Aniket Choudhury. RCB used RTM card for Yuzvendra Chahal which was expected and they also backed Pawan Negi to do the job for them this year. However, the only question is can they deliver as a team now after being lacklustre last year. The silverware has always been away from RCB and they would be eyeing to achieve it in the eleventh edition of the league.</p>
<h3>1. Chennai Super Kings: 21%</h3>
<figure id="attachment_217435" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-217435" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/2018/02/Chennai-Super-Kings.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-217435" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Chennai-Super-Kings.jpg" alt width="640" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-217435" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Chennai Super Kings returns to the IPL fray and in style. They have topped the charts and as many as 21% of votes have gone their way. Though the experts felt they missed the trick in the auction, their fans have gone either way and have tipped them as the best IPL side after the auction. They are the only team to qualify for the playoffs in every season CSK has played. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/jk-cricketer-manzoor-dar-wishes-emulate-ms-dhoni/"><strong>MS Dhoni</strong></a> is the best captain of India and is once again back at the helm for the franchise.</p>
<p>CSK retained Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja along with Dhoni and used RTM card for Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo. These 5 players have the capability of changing the game on its head. The two-time champions also shelled out a huge amount for Kedar Jadhav and backed Shane Watson to come good as well. Harbhajan Singh will play under Dhoni this year and they are once again the favourites to lift the title for the third time. It remains to be seen if they will be able to do it with a different bunch of players.</p>
<h3>Here&#8217;s the Facebook poll:</h3>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcrictracker%2Fposts%2F1930450096985702&amp;width=500" width="500" height="615" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>

Rajasthan Royals received the least number of votes.

CricTracker Fan Poll: Best IPL side after the auction

The mega-auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is done and dusted as all the eight teams looked happy after building a decent squad