The most expensive date of the cricketing calendar is upon us, as the billionaires of the Indian cricket flex their financial muscle in a bid to formulate a side they believe capable of lifting this year’s Indian Premier League.
by Matt Carter
An entire plethora of cricket’s finest talents from ten different nations are set to go under the hammer this week, with the perplexing auction taking place on Wednesday in Bangalore.
Deciphering the ins and out of this process is no easy task, although the most simple method is to imagine this like any other auction with a few extra catches thrown in.
Retained players
After the conclusion of last years IPL each franchise were sent back to the drawing board in regards to their squads, however each had the opportunity to retain a maximum of five players. The only drawback being that for each retained player a side would see their base budget for the auction reduced.
Further to that the number of players retained has a knock effect on the number of right to match cards a side gets, with these cards being a new concept for the 2014 edition. What these allow is for a side to sign up a player from last year’s books by simply matching the highest bidder for said player in the auction.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the top three from last year; Mumbai, Chennai and Rajasthan all chose to retain the full complement, although beaten semi-finalists Hyderabad have dispensed with all bar Shikar Dhawan and Dale Steyn. Delhi who finished in last position have decided to start entirely from scratch, as a result they can boast all five right to match cards.
The full list of players retained:
Mumbai Indians: Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravi Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, R Ashwin
Delhi Daredevils: None
Kings XI Punjab: David Miller, Manan Vohra
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Gautum Gambhir
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Sanju Samson, Anjikya Rahane, Stuart Binny
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Dale Steyn, Shikar Dhawan
Where’s it going to be played?
Adding spice to this year’s auction is that squads are being assembled with no certainty of where the competition is going to be played due to impeding Federal election taking place in India. As a result the competition could be moved to South Africa or The U.A.E.
This means sides will need to be assembled that are able to adapt to various conditions, taking into account the three possible locations all bring very different challenges. For example Virender Sehwag might look a great buy if the tournament does end up staying in India, yet should it be move to South Africa then his impact may decline.
There are simply too many excellent players who are worth investment to analyse this in depths, picking not just the right ones but the right blend is the challenge that faces those doing the bidding.
Marque players
Sixteen players however have been earmarked as marque individuals, whom will be the first to find their fate, some of the most notable of these being; Kevin Pietersen, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, David Warner, Jacques Kallis, Mahela Jayawardene and Brendon McCullum.
Not all players will be available for the entire tournament, which leads to difficult decisions regarding whether investment is worthwhile. This why the now fully available Pietersen represents such a huge coup for whoever is lucky enough to snare him, just as is the case with last season’s top run scorer Hussey.
- Now Kevin Pietersen will not be playing for England will Delhi be kicking themselves that they did not retain him?Gareth Williams / Foter / CC BY
Non-Indian players
It is also worth noting that a side is limited to nine non-Indian players and of those only four can start any given fixture, which is something further to consider when forming a squad.
It’s important to build a side that will not be hit to heavily by players leaving for international commitments during the season, whether it be by avoiding such players or by picking foreign players who are available at different times.
The auction as ever promises to be an intriguing spectacle and with so many possibilities we can only wait with baited breath to identify just who comes out with the best deal.
Even then, when the auction concludes we might still be unsure over quiet who has done the best business, given the question marks over just where and when the IPL actually be.
James Buttler
As the editor of Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author and a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications.
He's unsurprisingly a complete cricket badger!
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