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The 10 Indian Premier League teams have spent millions on players in a two-day auction to reconfigure their squads for the 18th edition of the Twenty20 tournament.
AFP Sport takes a look at the teams in the world’s richest cricket competition, which is set to be played between March and May next year.
– Mumbai Indians –
Five-time winners Mumbai, led by Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, have signed New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult.
The left-winger returned to the team for $1.48 million, joining fellow bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (retained), Deepak Chahar, Reece Topley and Lizaad Williams.
The team, owned by Nita Ambani – wife of Reliance Industries billionaire Mukesh Ambani – includes India Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma.
Mumbai Indians last won the IPL in 2020.
-Chennai Super Kings-
The five-time champions have picked up Indian veteran Ravichandran Ashwin, who last played for the franchise in 2015.
Ashwin, costing $1.15 million, reunites with twin Ravindra Jadeja, who has been retained alongside team icon MS Dhoni.
“Ashwin has an emotional attachment to Chennai, so it’s a good match,” said coach Stephen Fleming.
Attacking batsman Devon Conway also returns, alongside fellow New Zealander Rachin Ravindra and England all-rounder Sam Curran.
– Delhi Capitals –
Delhi, who parted ways with captain Rishabh Pant, walked away happy with the signing of KL Rahul.
Experts including Tom Moody said Rahul’s $1.65 million price tag was a “good buy” for a team seeking its first IPL title.
Delhi co-owner Parth Jindal has hinted that Rahul or veteran all-rounder Axar Patel, who has been retained, could be the new captain.
Other notable choices were Harry Brook, Mitchell Starc, Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk.
– Lucknow Super Giants –
Lucknow broke wicketkeeper Pant’s bank for an IPL record $3.2 million.
The 27-year-old left-hander made a stunning return to competitive cricket in the IPL this year following a serious car accident.
Lucknow coach Justin Langer called Pant a “huge pickup”.
The South African duo of Aiden Markram and David “Killer” Miller have also been added to the batting brigade.
Lucknow strengthened its attack with Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, India’s Avesh Khan and West Indies’ Shamar Joseph.
-Gujarat Titans-
Gujarat signed England batsman Jos Buttler for $1.87 million, before securing big names such as Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada.
“We needed a wicketkeeper and an experienced player, someone who can bat from number one to number four, and Jos fits that role,” said assistant coach Parthiv Patel.
With Shubman Gill as captain and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan as the main player, Gujarat managed to strike a balance between bat and ball.
New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips (spinner), Afghanistan pace bowler Karim Janat and South Africa speedster Gerald Coetzee also add to their strength.
– The kings of Punjab –
Punjab snared Shreyas Iyer for $3.17 million, which was briefly a record before being overtaken by Pant.
Punjab, with new head coach Ricky Ponting, entered the auction with the biggest purse and bagged left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh ($2.13 million) and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2, 13 million dollars), as well as Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
– Rajasthan Royals –
The early champions signed English pitcher Jofra Archer for $1.48 million.
Under new coach Rahul Dravid, the team led by Indian batsman Sanju Samson also bought Sri Lankan spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana.
They also made headlines with the youngest player in history, 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, for $130,500.
Built by the late Shane Warne, who led them to a triumph in 2008, Rajasthan are looking for their second title.
– Calcutta Knights Riders –
The defending champions surprised everyone with their winning bid for all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for $2.81 million, the third highest after Pant and Shreyas.
Venkatesh, a left-handed batsman and right-handed medium pace bowler, was not retained by the team – but had a happy return home when they managed to bid for him.
They replaced Phil Salt and Starc’s slots with Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje and Spencer Johnson, but left fans and pundits wondering about a captain.
Venkatesh said he was “more than happy” to lead the team.
– Sunrisers Hyderabad –
Hyderabad had retained the Australian duo of Pat Cummins and Travis Head after their runner-up finish, and secured another Australian in spinner Adam Zampa at auction.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami was picked up for $1.18 million along with other fast bowlers including Brydon Carse (England), Eshan Malinga (Sri Lanka), Harshal Patel (India) and Jaydev Unadkat (India).
Indian keeper-batsman Ishan Kishan also joined the group, for $1.33 million.
– Royal Challengers Bangalore –
Still looking for their maiden IPL title, Bangalore have secured England’s Salt for $1.36 million to partner star batsman Virat Kohli.
Batting coach Dinesh Karthik called Salt “explosive” and with a “good attitude”.
England’s Liam Livingstone was also added to strengthen the batting.
For the bowlers, they bought Australian quick Josh Hazlewood for $1.48 million and Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for $1.27 million.
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