IPL mini auction threw up some major surprises

The Indian Premier League (IPL) mini auction on December 16 in Abu Dhabi hit the headlines for all the right reasons. This was hardly surprising, given the tournament's global reach and the high stakes for both players and franchisees.

The amount available with the 10 franchisees to fill the 77 slots totalled ₹237.55 crore -- 369 players, including 118 of foreign origin, were shortlisted for the auction. Though billed as a "mini" auction, there was still considerable activity on the floor.

The auction is important from a cricketing perspective, as it is the occasion when observers gain insight into the strategies proposed by the various sides. Some hints were already on the table thanks to the high-profile transfers prior to the auction.

For instance, Chennai Super Kings' (CSK), who had performed below par during the last two seasons, decision to release Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to bring in Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals (RR) in exchange revealed a game plan for making better use of the power play at the start of the innings, which has hitherto been a weak link for this team.

One important change that took effect before the auction concerned payments for foreign players. According to this regulation, the amount that a foreign player can earn through the mini auction cannot exceed the highest retention price of ₹18 crore at the mega auction. Hence, Cameroon Green, bought for ₹25.20 crore, would receive only ₹18 crore, while the remaining ₹7.2 crore would be added to the BCCI's kitty.

The team with the largest purse prior to this round of mini auction was Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The release of players such as Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje and Moeen Ali not only left them with ₹64.25 crore but also six slots that foreign players could fill.

This helped them bring in Green, an all-rounder in the classic mould, who bowls fast medium and is an effective batsman in the lower middle-order. The desperation KKR felt for an all-rounder's services pushed the auction for Green beyond ₹25.20 crore. One is certain that the Aussie all-rounder will be smiling at this huge stroke of good fortune that has landed at his door!

The high purse also helped them get the services of Matheesha Pathirana, a fast bowler with a "slinger" style, who CSK released. Pathirana had an outstanding season in 2023, but had an injury-ridden 2024 and a rather colourless 2025, which was probably the reason behind CSK's decision to release him.

The other major purchases of KKR are Mustafiqur Rehman, the left-arm fast bowler from Bangladesh, and Rachin Ravindra, the New Zealand top-order batsman, who also bowls useful left-arm spin. KKR also used their purse effectively by getting the services of Tim Seifert and Finn Allen -- two Kiwi batsmen who can provide explosive starts at the top of the order.

CSK was the other franchisee that approached the auction with a huge purse of ₹43.40 crore. They adopted a bold, different strategy by targeting young uncapped players. The 20-year-old Prasanth Veer, the all-rounder from Uttar Pradesh whose two matches in first-class cricket so far have fetched a total of two wickets and less than 10 runs, must have pinched himself to confirm that he was not having a dream when his auction price went to ₹14.20 crore from the base amount of ₹30 lakh. Karthik Sharma, the other uncapped player bagged by CSK for a similar amount, has played more first-class matches, with an impressive strike rate of 162.92 in T20 cricket.

Both Sharma and Veer are clean strikers of the ball and have shown an amazing ability to hit sixers, with the former even called a "serial six-hitter"! It was perhaps this "x" factor, along with CSK's desperation to shed the "Dad's army" tag and brand themselves as a "youthful" side, that helped them during the auction.

Other interesting buys of CSK include Rahul Chahar, the leg spin bowler, Matt Henry, the Kiwi speedster, and Sarfaraz Khan, the middle-order batsman. Among the three, Chahar was bought for ₹5.2 crore, while the other two were bought at their base prices of ₹2 crore and ₹75 lakh, respectively.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC) had purses in the range of ₹21 to ₹25 crore. SRH went aggressively for Liam Livingstone, the all-rounder from England, and bought him for ₹13 crore, despite his performances in IPL till date not being very inspiring.

DC, on the other hand, went after untested blood, picking up Auqib Nabi, the medium-pacer from Jammu and Kashmir, who swings the ball prodigiously, and Pathum Nissanka, the Sri Lankan top-order bat, who is yet to play in IPL. DC also gambled on the mercurial Prithwi Shaw, buying him at the base price of ₹75 lakh.

LSG appeared to have bungled up by spending too much on Josh Inglis, who may not be available for the entire season, and the injury-prone Anrich Nortje, spending ₹8.6 crore and ₹2 crore, respectively, on these two overseas cricketers.

There were four franchisees with purse amounts in the ₹10 to ₹20 crore category - Gujarat Titans (GT), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). PBKS has a fully set side that finished second last year and only needed a replacement for Josh Inglis, which they managed by grabbing Cooper Connolly, the young Aussie all-rounder who also bowls left-arm spin.

RR bid aggressively for Ravi Bishnoi and won him for ₹7.2 crore, while they were lucky to get Adam Milne, the Kiwi fast bowler, at just above his base price. GT and RCB did not have any overwhelming need to fill up specific slots on their sides and used the purse prudently to pick up Jason Holder and Venkatesh Iyer, respectively, for an identical amount of ₹7 crore.

The franchisee with the smallest purse was the Mumbai Indians (MI), who had only ₹2.75 crore in their kitty. This was also the lowest-ever amount available with a franchisee on the eve of a mini auction. But they used this amount to bag Quinton de Kock, the veteran South African wicket keeper, who showed his mettle with a brilliant century against India a few days back. MI had also picked up fast bowler Shardul Thakur and West Indian batsman Sherfane Rutherford in the trades prior to the auction. They would have loved to procure the services of Green, but the small purse at their disposal put paid to their hopes in this regard.

It can be seen that the top five sides of the IPL 2025 - RCB, PBKS, MI, GT and DC -  have tried to retain their sides in the firm belief that the strategies and game plans that helped them last year will stand them in good stead this tim