For the first time in the last 14 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the focus of almost all the teams was on rising stars rather than the declining stalwarts. That’s how Mumbai Indians broke the bank to secure young Ishan Kishan for a whopping Rs 15.25 crore, which turned out to be the most expensive buy of the IPL 2022 auctions. But unfortunately, the cricket fans will not see stalwarts like AB Devilliers, Suresh Raina or Chris Gayle ever since the world’s richest league got into business in 2008.

The most intriguing story came from the Tamil Nadu camp, where the shares of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had dropped by 10 to 15% in two days of auctions after the team think-tank spent money on aging players. Even those youngsters who were picked up by the CSK were unknown commodities.

According to market observers, CSK prices were trading at a Rs 215-225 price band in the grey market at the end of January, but fell sharply below the 180 mark as the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led squad failed to secure any big stars in the auctions.

The most noticeable interest was shown in players from India’s recent Under-19 World Cup winning team. If all-rounder Raj Angad Bawa, who picked up a five-wicket haul in the final against England, attracted a bid of Rs 2 crore by Punjab Kings, then another young star all-rounder, Rajvardhan Hanagargekar, was traded to CSK for Rs 1.5 crore. While the junior team’s skipper, Yash Dhull, went to Delhi Capitals for Rs 50 lakh, the big names like Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, and Eoin Morgan surprisingly found no takers in the auction.

A total of 204 players were sold, and Rs 551.70 crore was spent by the 10 franchises.

The Patriot takes a look at how almost all the teams bid wild for the young fast-bowling all-rounders. This year, there were five Indians amongst the total of 13 in this category who became millionaires.

Deepak Chahar finished as the most expensive Indian bowler at Rs 14 crore, while Shardul Thakur and Harshal Patel snapped him up for an identical price of Rs 10.75 crore each. But it is not mandatory that the fast men bat. 

 

Decoding of squads

Rajasthan Royals:

The inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) revamped their squad after finishing 7th among the eight teams last season. Having retained three players before the auction – Sanju Samson (Rs 14 crore), Jos Buttler (Rs 10 crore) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rs 4 crore) – Rajasthan went into the 2022 auction with a Rs 62 crore purse.

Ravichandran Ashwin was their first pick at Rs 5 crore. New Zealand’s left-arm pacer Trent Boult was secured for Rs 8 crore while Indian young speedster Prasidh Krishna attracted Rs 10 crore. Swashbuckling West Indies cricketer Shimron Hetmyer (Rs 8.5 crore), Yuzvendra Chahal (Rs 6.50 crores) and Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal (Rs 7.75 crore) were the other top picks for Royals. Padikkal will open the innings alongside Buttler, while Hetmyer could be given the role of a finisher.

Complete squad: Sanju Samson (captain & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, K.C. Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell

 

Mumbai Indians:

The five-time champion had the strongest line-up of retentions with Rohit Sharma (Rs 16 crore), Jasprit Bumrah (Rs 12 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (Rs 8 crore), and Kieron Pollard (Rs 6 crore).

Starting with a purse of Rs. 48 crore, MI shelled out Rs 15.25 crore to re-acquire young wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan. It came as a surprise because they could well have retained him for almost half the price earlier. Rohit Sharma will open alongside Ishan Kishan.

MI took a risk by paying a hefty amount of Rs 8 crore for half-fit English speedster Jofra Archer. Initial reports suggest that Archer won’t be available this season so MI will look up to him for 2023. The inclusion of Bravis, popularly known as baby AB, adds variety to their squad.

Complete squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, M Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, N Tilak Varma, Sanjay Yadav, Jofra Archer, Daniel Sams, Tymal Mills, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Mohammad Arshad Khan, Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Fabian Allen, Aryan Juyal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 

With the David Warner controversy now over, Sunrisers Hyderabad have been looking toward a new era in the leadership of Kane Williamson. SRH had a purse of Rs 68 crore after keeping Kane Williamson (Rs 14 crore), Abdul Samad (Rs 4 crore), and Umran Malik (Rs 4 crore) in the squad. As a bowling-dominant side, SRH have successfully accumulated several world-class bowlers in their ranks in Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Kartik Tyagi, Shreyas Gopal, and Washington Sundar.

In the batting department, they have veteran Williamson, Pooran, Tripathi, and young Priyam Garg.

Complete squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Umran Malik and Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Nicholas Pooran, T. Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Priyam Garg, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma, Kartik Tyagi, Shreyas Gopal, Jagadeesha Suchith, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Romario Shepherd, Sean Abbott, R. Samarth, Shashank Singh, Saurabh Dubey, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Glenn Phillips, Vishnu Vinod.

Gujarat Titans:

Gujarat Titans may be newcomers in the league but they look prepared for the war. And that’s why they picked war lord Hardik Pandya as leader of the group for Rs 15 crore during the players’ draft.

They also acquired the services of Rashid Khan (Rs 15 crore) and Shubman Gill (Rs 8 crore). But the biggest purchase for Gujarat Titans was Lockie Ferguson for Rs 10 crore. Paying Rs 9 crore for Indian all-rounder Rahul Tewatia looked a bit more, but then getting speedster Mohammed Shami for Rs 6.25 crore balanced their equation. Gujarat bought England opener Jason Roy for just Rs. 2 crore and are paying Rs. 3 crore to R Sai Kishore.

Complete squad: Hardik Pandya (captain), Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Jason Roy, Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R. Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh.

Lucknow Super Giants:

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are set for their formal debut this season. Before auctions, they also got a name like KL Rahul to lead the pack for Rs 17 crore along with Marcus Stoinis (Rs 9.2 crore) and Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 4 crore).

LSG’s big signing was Avesh Khan for Rs 10 crore. While they shelled out Rs 8.75 crore for West Indian Jason Holder and Rs 8.25 crore to Krunal Pandya, South African wicket-keeper batsman Quinton De Kock was secured for Rs 6.25 crore and roped in England’s Mark Wood for Rs 7.50 crore.

Complete squad: KL Rahul (captain), Ravi Bishnoi, Marcus Stoinis, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Ankit Rajpoot, K Gowtham, Dushmanta Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manan Vohra, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Evin Lewis, Mayank Yadav.

 

Punjab Kings:

Punjab Kings (PBKS) retained only two players – Mayank Agarwal (Rs. 12 crore) and Arshdeep Singh (Rs. 4 crore) – after their disastrous campaign in 2021. They entered the 2022 mega auction with the biggest purse of Rs 72 crore and hoped to rebuild their squad from scratch. 

PBKS first catch was Shikhar Dhawan for Rs 8.25 crore and also probably to lead the squad. They shelled out Rs 9.25 crore for Kagiso Rabada while Rs 6.75 crore for Jonny Bairstow. They bought Shahrukh Khan for Rs 9 crore and spent Rs 5.25 crore for Rahul Chahar.

Complete squad: Shikhar Dhawan (likely captain), Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapakse, Benny Howell.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

KKR were in the market for a new captain during this auction and it was visible in their auction strategy. However, it looked as if they got two instead of the one they needed to do the job. Having secured the services of Australian skipper Pat Cummins for 7.25 crore, they opened their purse for Shreyas Iyer and signed him for Rs 12.25 crore. Who will lead now is a million-dollar question for KKR fans. 

However, KKR’s bid of Rs 8 crore looked a bit too heavy for Delhi middle-order batsman Nitish Rana and speedster Shivam Mavi for Rs 7.25 crore. The team looks balanced with the presence of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell.

Complete squad: Shreyas Iyer (likely captain), Pat Cummins (in race for captaincy), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer and Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Rana, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Dar, Baba Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Ashok Sharma, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Tim Southee, Ramesh Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Umesh Yadav, Aman Khan.

Delhi Capitals:

DC have been the most improved side in recent years and they have once again built a good squad at the auctions for the next season. They retained four players before the auction – Rishabh Pant (Rs 16 crore), Axar Patel (Rs 9 crore), Prithvi Shaw (Rs 7.5 crore), and Anrich Nortje (Rs 6.5 crore). DC’s biggest buy in the auctions was Shardul Thakur for Rs 10.75 crore for his all-round services. Shardul will share the new ball with dangerous Anrich Nortje and Chetan Sakariya can also fill up the side. 

However, getting Australian opener David Warner for Rs 6.25 crore could prove vital for their maiden title chances this season.

They have found a perfect replacement for Marcus Stoinis in Mitchell Marsh by spending Rs 6.50 crore. Kuldeep Yadav and Mustafizur Rahman were also bought by Delhi for as cheap as Rs 2 crore each.

Complete squad: Rishabh Pant (captain), Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Sarfaraz Khan, KS Bharat, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mandeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:  

RCB began the IPL auction with a purse of Rs 57 crore after retaining three players — Virat Kohli (Rs 15 crore), Australian Glenn Maxwell (Rs 11 crore), and Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj (Rs 7 crore).

But they went all out to secure the services of 2021 Purple Cap winner Harshal Patel and Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga by paying Rs 10.75 crore each. They have also found a perfect opener in Faf du Plessis for Rs 7 crore, who could also be made skipper after Virat Kohli’s announcement of quitting it a few months back. RCB could see Faf and Virat Kohli open the batting.

Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik could be used in the number four and five positions respectively. RCB spent Rs 7.75 crore for Aussie pacer Josh Hazlewood.

Complete squad: Faf du Plessis (likely captain), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudessai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Siddarth Kaul, Luvnith Sisodia, David Willey.

Chennai Super Kings:

CSK are known for their peculiar auction strategies and once again they were on target. They went into the auction with a purse of Rs 48 crore after retaining four players – Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 16 crore), MS Dhoni (Rs 12 crore), Moeen Ali (Rs 8 crore), and Ruturaj Gaikwad (Rs 6 crore).

They went after all-rounder Deepak Chahar by spending Rs 14 crore, but no significant signing was done after that. Chennai spent Rs 4.40 and 6.76 crore for the services of Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu respectively. They also bought back Robin Uthappa for the base price of Rs 2 crore. CSK signed Shivam Dube for Rs 4 crore.

Gaikwad and Conway are expected to open for CSK while Moeen can come in at number three. 

The likes of Rayudu and Dube can be crucial in the middle. Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni can switch between six and seven.

Complete squad: MS Dhoni (captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayadu, Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Shivam Dube, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitch Santner, Adam Milne, Subhranshu Senapati, Prashant Solanki, Mukesh Choudhary, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Chris Jordan, Bhagath Varma.

How the money is paid

A total of INR 551.70 crore was spent on 204 players in the enthralling IPL 2022 auction, which spanned across two days.  However, a lot of factors are at play in determining the actual salary a player will be able to claim.

1. A player receives the amount that he has been bought for, for playing one season. If the player is retained for subsequent seasons, he will continue receiving the same fee. For example, if a player has been bought for Rs 2 crore and plays three seasons for the same franchise, he will make a total of Rs 6 crore.
2. A player does not take the entire sum home, as taxes are applicable on this income. Usually, a 10% Taxes Deducted at Source (TDS) is applicable for the Indian players, while for foreign players, it is 20%. 
3. The income of a player also depends upon a number of other factors including performance-related bonus, fines and awards.
4. The income of a player does not depend on the number of matches he plays, as long as he is available and with the squad. 
5. If a player is not available for a full season and plays only a portion of the games, his salary is determined on a proportional allocation basis, or pro-rata.
6. If a player is not available for the entire season, he will not be able to avail any salary. The franchise can then sign a replacement player at his auction base price.
7. There is no determined rule to abide by when it comes to when a team will pay a player’s salary. A franchise can pay before, during or after the competition.
8. If a team releases a player before the completion of the season, they will need to pay the entire salary of the player. If the decision of termination comes from a player’s end, his salary will be decided on a pro-rata basis.
9. As for retentions, the governing body has set guidelines regarding the purse deduction for a retained player, but the actual salary can vary. For example, Rs 16 crore was deducted from the purse of KKR for retaining Andre Russell, when in reality, he was signed for Rs 12 crore.

No buyers for these 10 big names

Suresh Raina (Base price of Rs 2 crore):

The 35-year-old left-hander sits in fourth position in the list of all-time run-getters in the IPL. He has played 205 matches and scored 5,528 runs at an average of 32.51. Raina is only behind Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in the run-getters list and incidentally boasts a better average than Rohit Sharma, while having a better strike-rate than all the three players above him in the list. However, Raina struggled big-time in the 2021 season, scoring just 160 runs in 12 matches at a paltry average of 17.77.

 

Steve Smith (Base price of Rs 2 crore):

The former Australian skipper and prolific run scorer surprisingly found no takers in the auctions. He had a mixed tournament in 2021 while playing for Delhi Capitals. Smith scored 152 runs in eight matches at an average of 25.33 and a strike rate of 112.59.

His overall experience could have come in handy for some of the teams but no one decided to take a punt on him.

 

Shakib Al Hasan (Base price of Rs 2 crore):

The volatile Bangladesh star tops ICC’s ODI rankings for all-rounders and is second in ICC’s T20I rankings. However, despite his prowess with both the bat and ball, no team put in a bid for Shakib. His poor outing in IPL 2021 might have worked against him. Playing for KKR, Shakib scored just 47 runs in eight matches and managed to take just four wickets.

 

Aaron Finch (Base price of Rs 1.50 crore):

The Australian white-ball captain has shown glimpses of his talent in the IPL but has been unable to consistently do well. Finch had played for RCB in 2020 where he had done fairly well, scoring 268 runs in 12 games.

 

Dawid Malan (Base price of Rs 1.50 crore):

The Englishman was the top batter in T20Is as per the ICC rankings but in recent times has steadily fallen down the pecking order. He is currently 5th in ICC’s T20I rankings and has failed to his lofty standards in the recent past.

He had joined Punjab Kings last season amid much fanfare but got to play a solitary game in which he had scored 26 runs.

 

Eoin Morgan (Base price of Rs 1.50 crore):

The England white-ball skipper had led the Kolkata Knight Riders to the final in IPL 2021, where they lost to Chennai Super Kings. Despite KKR’s superlative run to the final, Morgan himself had a torrid time with the bat.

The left-hander scored just 133 runs in 17 matches at an average of 11.08. His struggles in 2021 probably went a long way in teams deciding against purchasing him despite his obvious leadership skills.

 

Chris Lynn (Base price of Rs 1.50 crore):

One of the most brutal hitters that have emerged from Australia, Lynn has failed to replicate his Big Bash exploits in the IPL. He was picked up by Mumbai Indians for his base price of Rs 2 crore ahead of IPL 2021 season, but got to play just one match.

He, however, scored 49 runs at a strike-rate of 140 in this match, leaving everyone impressed. 

 

Tabraiz Shamsi (Base price of Rs 1 crore):

The South African spinner showed what he is capable of in the ODIs against India. In the T20I format, Shamsi is the second-ranked bowler but despite his credentials, teams shockingly showed zero interest in him. At 1 crore, surely Shamsi would have been a steal.

 

Imran Tahir (Base price of Rs 2 crore):

The veteran South African spinner is now 42 years old and his base price of Rs 2 crore might have been the reason for him finding no buyers in the auction. Even last year, Tahir got the chance to play just a single match for the Chennai Super Kings, in which he took two wickets at an economy rate of 4.

 

Amit Mishra (Base price of Rs 1 crore)

With 166 wickets under his belt, he is the third leading wicket-taker in the IPL, behind Lasith Malinga (170 wickets) and Dwayne Bravo (167 wickets).

He is a veteran of 154 games and has recorded four four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul in the tournament. He picked six wickets in four games in 2021.

 

Amount spent by each team in the auction:

Chennai Super Kings (45.5 crores)

Delhi Capitals (47.4 crores)

Gujarat Titans (51.85 crores)

Kolkata Knight Riders (47.55 crores)

Lucknow Super Giants (59 crores)

Mumbai Indians (47.9 crores)

Punjab Kings (68.55 crores)

Rajasthan Royals (61.5 crores)

Royal Challengers Bangalore (55.45 crores)

Sunrisers Hyderabad (67.9 crores)