Analysing the remaining KKR & SRH squads and analysing and suggesting what these two teams need to do in the IPL Auctions for 2021!
SRH And KKR have the two smallest purses remaining when it comes to the IPL auctions 2021. Analyzing their decision to not let go off several players, and going in – depth as to why have they retained certain players, and what they should do next. The two teams where neck and neck in DREAM11 IPL 2020 and the battle continues. Also find the Retained Squad Ratings at the end.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS – SECOND SMALLEST PURSE REMAINING
Kolkata Knight Riders have retained most of their players, and are now left with a purse which is not very competitive to that of some other teams. The core team has been retained and the players who have been released, are mainly overseas players who had not played much in 2020. This frees a bit of the purse for KKR. Kolkata Knight Riders, since the 2018 auctions, have been trying to find a fix for their team and being a team which does back its players but does not have a very strong or stable core set of players, it is definitely a bit hard to hit the right balance.
The players released by Kolkata Knight Riders, are by no means players below par, with a couple of exceptions. Kolkata Knight Riders releasing them can be justified by the fact that first, half of them, i.e. 3 of the players, are overseas players, who with the likes of Russell, Narine and Cummins and an overseas captain will never be getting a chance easily, whereas KKR can buy in new overseas athletes or buy them back with an RTM card, with their prices not expected to go very high due to their unimpressive performance in the games played in 2020 and early 2021; second, these releases add upto a total of 2.55 crores – A major chunk of KKR’s remaining purse. KKR can even buy just a couple of big players from the top pools, and then buy the Indian youngsters at close to their base price and go back home happy with 17 players already in the squad pre – auction.
Tom Banton was a promising player, when picked in the 2020 IPL auctions, but since then he has been going through a very bad phase and although, backing players is important, with him being an overseas player, who does not make the core of the team and is not the first backup batsman for the team with value not expected to rise a lot, KKR have made the right decision. With the IPL being held in India, and Eden Gardens being the home ground for KKR, KKR should be looking for an all – rounder. They have a good bowling line up but it needs to be bolstered as throughout the 2020 season the line up was dependent on just a few players. The player should probably be an all – rounder because that can help decrease KKR’s reliance on Andre Russell, and if that player is an Indian that can help KKR fit in different overseas talent in their team as and when required.
Should KKR have released Pat Cummins and Dinesh Karthik? No. Pat Cummins, is an expensive player, and is worth more than KKR’s purse remaining for the 2021 auctions but considering his form and the value he provides, he needs to remain at KKR for their good. But why not get him back for a cheaper price? With teams such as RCB AND KXIP, who have a big purse and were looking to get him in 2020 itself, might just have outbid KKR this time around, or have made his value reach around the same as in 2020, so it was better for KKR to play it safe, with mega auction expected to be held in 2022. Why not leave him and try Starc if he gets outbidded? Well, Cummins has understood the whole team, and has settle down and the team is in a proper motion now, So, this increases KKR’s chances of performing better in 2021, especially with Cummins’s performance.
And when it comes to Dinesh Karthik, he is an experienced player, excellent wicket – keeper – the best KKR can get, plays well against spin and can manage the innings in the crucial death overs, and has proved that he isn’t completely done as he has been leading the Tamil Nadu side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and has even been performing well as an individual player.
KKR should probably be looking forward to buy and be happy with just the minimum requirement of players fulfilled, 1 of them preferably being a big overseas scalp. Should KKR go for Mitchell Starc? If they can get him under 6 crore, which seems to be very very very not probable, then yes, otherwise they do have a good bowling line up with just that one missing piece which can even be fitted by an fast – bowling all rounder. It seems like KKR are looking forward to the mega auctions in 2022, where they would be having more releases and a bigger purse and some good players in the pool.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD – SMALLEST PURSE REMAINING
Sunrisers Hyderabad have the smallest purse remaining. They have released just 5 players, and have retained most of their players, especially their batting line up. The idea was to retain the time that got them to the Qualifier stage in the 2020 IPL and build on it with some new players who can help the team not face issues that faced during small periods of time in the previous season. SRH need to end their over reliance on the their top 4 batsmen, being in proper and complete form.
The players SRH has released are not big names, except Billy Stanlake who has a T20 and T20I career, which cannot be easily overlooked. He is a consistent wicket taker, but can give away several runs in each match, and that is probably the reason as to why SRH might have let him go, especially when SH already have players like Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mitchell Marsh, Mohammad Nabi and Khaleel Ahmed. With a 21 player strong squad, SRH are already very strong and will be looking to pic up a couple of good Indian talent. Most Indian players in SRH are young or not so experiences, so SRH might even be looking for a player out of the experienced players released from CSK, and other such teams. Big overseas players, is not what they should be looking for in the 2021 auctions.
Should SRH have released more players? No. Not necessarily. Would not make much sense. With Mega Auction expected to be held in 2022, and a proven team which did wonders in 2020 intact, SRH should just be looking to make the small improvements by getting a couple of domestic players, who have been performing well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and can continue form and by settling their Playing XI.
Should SRH bid for Steve Smith? Definitely not. They already have a very strong core of foreign players right at the top of the batting order, and they already have had the need to sit out an overseas player- Johnny Bairstow – in 2020 in order to not breach the 4 overseas player limit in the Playing XI. Buying Steve Smith will not be of help for SRH, rather a set of Indian players can help them balance their team and even get better results.
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