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Replacing former Indian captain MS Dhoni as the skipper of the Rising Pune Supergiants is expected to cast a long shadow on the 2017 season of IPL auction which begins in Bengaluru on Monday.
The Pune team management in a sudden turn of events on Sunday announced the appointment of Steve Smith, the captain of the touring Australian side, as the new skipper. Dhoni has been the captain of all the nine seasons of IPL since the tournament began in 2008.
Under his leadership, Chennai SuperKings won the IPL tournament twice (2010 and 2011) and the Champions’ League T20 trophy in 2010 and 2014. The auction which will be held in a five-star city hotel from 9 a.m. on Monday will see a total of 357 players including 130 overseas players going under the hammer. The pool comprises 62 batsmen, 117 bowlers, 148 all rounders and 30 wicket keepers, according to the IPL website. The IPL tournament will begin on April 5.
A total of 227 uncapped players are expected to make their debut this season including five players from Afghanistan, another first for the new season.
The most expensive player during the 2016 auction, the uncapped Pawan Negi who was bought for ₹8.5 crore, however, finds himself out in the cold this time as his team, Delhi Daredevils, has released him into the general pool.
Seven marquee players — Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Angelo Mathews, Patrick Cummins, Mitchell Johnson, Ishant Sharma and Chris Woakes — have the highest reserve price of ₹2 crore whereas 15 players fall under the reserve price of ₹1-1.5 crore, the official website of IPL said.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad, which won the IPL in 2016, has retained the core of its squad while Rising Pune Supergiants has released the maximum number of players among all the IPL franchises. The Pune team finished second last in last year’s edition.
Gujarat too has retained the core of its squad though it released seven Indian players. Kings XI has released only four players, the fewest by any team while retaining 19. Kolkata Knight Riders which has won the IPL twice has released six out of the 10 overseas players in its squad.
Mumbai and RCB have also retained several players ahead of the 2017 player auction. Delhi too has retained the bulk of its team. RCB has released 10 players but still has 20 on its list, according to ESPN Cricinfo.
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