Planning for the Mega Auction: Who should be retained?
With the 2024 IPL season wrapped up, teams are now gearing up for the much-anticipated Mega Auction next season. Unlike regular annual auctions, this event allows franchises to completely rebuild their squads, making it a rare and strategic opportunity. The key to this process is player retention. Teams must decide which players to keep, ensuring a strong core while leaving enough budget to acquire new talent. It’s a delicate balance between securing proven performers and maintaining auction flexibility.
In this blog, we’ll explore the strategies behind these crucial retention decisions. We’ll analyze who each team should retain based on past performances and potential future impact, setting the stage for the next IPL season. Join us as we dive into the pivotal choices that shape each franchise’s future.
The last mega auction was held in 2022. This cycle is from the 2022 IPL to the 2024 IPL. Teams are ordered by their cumulative win-loss this cycle. We will assume that each player retains at least 4 players.
Retention Structure in the Mega Auctions
There are rumors that teams are pushing to retain 8 players, which will also significantly increase the auction purse. So, I will list the 4 players I think should be retained, and then the next 2/3 that are in line provided the retention number expands.
Mumbai Indians
Last season Record: 4-10
Cycle Record: 16-26
Best finish in cycle: 8-6, 3rd-Place (2023)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
It’s finally time for MI’s old guard to step away. Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya have never been highly productive IPL players, and the lack of production surrounding this year finally exposed them. Both of them have career batting averages under 30, and without firepower in the death, everyone saw it this year. MI should focus most of their retentions on keeping the younger players. Bumrah, Verma, David (& Kishan, Coetzee) are all younger than 30 or just turned 30 this year. This gives them a great core to build upon, and MI can look forward to brighter futures.
Punjab Kings
Last season Record: 5-9
Cycle Record: 18-24
Best finish in this cycle: 7-7 (2022)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
PBKS is one of the harder teams to find retention players for, particularly because so many of their top contributors are on the wrong side of 30. They may retain just 3 players (no Sam Curran), partly because of their youth. Arshdeep Singh as their no.1 retention is a slight gamble, but his development over the years and his relative youth mean that he can go on to become one of the best bowlers in the IPL. The lack of runs is a big reason Punjab won few games, and stocking up bowlers using retentions gives them the leeway to splurge on established batsmen in the auction.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Last season Record: 8-5-1
Cycle Record: 18-23-1
Best finish in this cycle: 8-5-1, Runners-Up (2024)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
Despite losing to KKR in the finals, SRH has enough to look forward to in the mega auction. They will be able to bring back Pat Cummins at a cheaper price. The blossoming of Abhishek Sharma gives the Sunrisers an Indian top-order batter who can play for them for a long time, something they have sorely lacked. Retaining Travis Head is a no-brainer, and bringing back one of the best domestic bowlers in the league at a bargain will be great for them. One player to watch out for is Umran Malik. Despite a lackluster season, SRH could look to bring him back if the number of retentions increases.
Delhi Capitals
Last season Record: 7-7
Cycle Record: 19-23
Best finish in this cycle: 7-7 (2022,2024)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
Delhi unfortunately has to go through a rebuild once again. After a successful run from 2018-2022, DC decided not to retain Shreyas Iyer, and they are back where they started. All their retentions are under 27 years old, and they can build on this core to win instantly. Stubbs and McGurk were brilliant for DC, stepping into the IPL for the 1st time ever and having great seasons. The biggest omission for DC is their veterans. Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, and David Warner all had bad seasons for them. They underperformed heavily, and it was evident that DC had to move on from them.
Chennai Super Kings
Last season Record: 7-7
Cycle Record: 19-22
Best finish in this cycle: 8-5-1, Champions (2023)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
Curiously, a lot of the big names in the IPL did not perform up to their usual standards. Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar fall into that bucket, and their age and the growth of these younger players mean that CSK moves on. The best part for them is that they have 2 frontline pacers they can keep for over a decade. Deshpande and Pathirana have been brilliant in the IPL, both last season and this season. Their growth as bowlers is immense, and it settles the CSK pace attack that has been subpar over the last couple of years. In terms of their extra retention, it's hard to see MSD fall into the mega auction. The logical choice would be to retain Rachin, who showed glimpses of his potential this season. On the other hand, MSD was one of the most devastating hitters this season, and CSK could choose to bring him back purely for what he means to the franchise.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Last season Record: 9-3-2
Cycle Record: 21-19-2
Best finish in this cycle: 9-3-2, Champions (2024)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
There are rumors about KKR lobbying for the IPL Champion to get more retentions. After seeing their squad, it is not hard to imagine why. If the IPL doesn’t allow more than 4 retentions, KKR cannot retain their 2nd-highest wicket-taker (Harshit Rana) and their 2nd-highest run-getter (Phil Salt). Even with 6 retentions, they miss out on the 24.75 crore Man, Mitchell Starc. After a rough start to the year, Starc had great spells at the back end of the season and picked up 5 wickets in the 2 playoff games. His spells up front were instrumental to KKR winning the title. KKR won this title out of nowhere, and now they can retain this core and build upon it despite letting go of their younger players.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Last season Record: 7-7
Cycle Record: 22-20
Best finish in this cycle: 8-6, 3rd-Place (2022)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
It is tough to find retentions that RCB should make before the mega auction, and I would not be surprised if they decided to retain less than the maximum. Despite making the playoffs, RCB had a mediocre season and only got spurts of contributions from its batsmen. None of their veterans had major contributions, and none of their younger guys stepped up. For the first time in years, RCB had a better bowling group than batting. This is beneficial to them, but they will need to invest capital in younger players so that they can plan for their future. This projected retention sees them appoint a new captain because they do not retain Faf Du Plessis. This is one of the bleakest groups of retention because they need to have age on their side.
Lucknow Super Giants
Last season Record: 7-7
Cycle Record: 24-17-1
Best finish in this cycle: 9-5, 3rd-place (2022)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
The lack of a big hitter at the top has hampered them. KL Rahul famously said that he doesn’t care about his strike rate, and it shows. In an age where 190-200 is the norm, striking at 136 is not sustainable. LSG could use one of their extra retentions to keep maybe Marcus Stoinis/Quinton De Kock, but Ayush Badoni has an upside that the others don’t. Despite his lack of wickets this year, Ravi Bishnoi is one of the best bowlers in the IPL based on his economy. He will clog the middle overs up, and his relative youth makes him a steal for the 3rd retention price. LSG is also a team that could decide not to retain even 4 players, in which case maybe they say goodbye to KL. They need to shore up their middle order, and bringing in young Indian batsmen in the auction may be the next step forward.
Rajasthan Royals
Last season Record: 8-5-1
Cycle Record: 24-17-1
Best finish in this cycle: 9-5, Runners-Up (2022)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
Tough decisions await RR in the retention market. Much like KKR, they have too many good players that they would want to retain, but can’t. Riyan Parag is an extra retention despite his stellar play this season, mainly because this season seems like an outlier. His pre-2024 IPL numbers are not eye-popping, and there is a chance that this was a fluke. The other key member that RR might not be able to bring back is Trent Boult. Boult took 16 wickets and gave up just 8.3 runs per over, but his age is a key concern. Fast bowlers at 36 don’t have too many great years left in them. RR should prioritize building their bowling attack because a lot of their key performers this season are on the wrong side of 30.
Gujarat Titans
Last season Record: 5-7
Cycle Record: 25-15-2
Best finish in this cycle: 10-4, Champions (2022)
Key Retentions
Extra Retentions
Notes
Tough to find retentions for GT. After a stellar 1st 2 years in the IPL, their performance fell off a cliff this season. They lacked penetration in the powerplay, and lack of wickets early meant their spinners were under a lot of pressure. Both Khan and Ahmad had great economies, but teams knew they could get away with playing their overs out. GT must be on the lookout for domestic pace bowlers in the market, and a death-over finisher must also be a priority.
And there you have it. All 10 teams have been covered. A lot of the players I think should be retained are based on this season’s production, but IPL teams take a longer view. They may decide to retain an unheralded youngster and give up an established player because he may not be worth the cost. Age also played a big factor, but teams could take one-year fliers on some of the older players and then cut them.
Good analysis and well written..
ReplyDeleteInteresting analysis, retention of Kohli should be reassessed inspite of him scoring big runs...RCB could not capitalize on his performance and its time for him to make way for younger gen. Need a new captain as suggested.
ReplyDeleteKohli is just shit
DeleteI like your analysis here. Of course, being a Dhoni fan, my focus was on your CSK discussion. Do you think that CSK has to select either Dhoni or Rachin? I suspect that Dhoni moves upstairs into management, and thus CSK retain both.
ReplyDelete