IPL 2024 Auction: Which teams failed in building a formidable unit?

After the IPL 2024 Auction, some teams might be happy with the purchases they made, while others won’t be satisfied with the players they got for the upcoming tournament in March. But after 72 players were bought in all, by the franchises, the teams look completely different from what they were, before the auction.

While it is difficult to pick a team that fared the worst in the IPL 2024 Auction since performance will be the best judge, it is worth looking, at how they did while compiling their squads on paper.

Rajasthan Royals Fail to Tick All Boxes

Having entered the IPL 2024 Auction with a purse of INR 14.5 Cr, Rajasthan Royals had to be careful about the money they shell out on their preferences, but it is safe to say, they were not. They ended up doling out INR 7.4 Cr on West Indies skipper Rovman Powell, burning a big hole in their pocket. Then they over-spent for Shubham Dubey (5.8 Cr), after getting engaged in a bidding war with Delhi Capitals, instead of going for a genuine all-rounder.

For now, in the all-rounder category, they only have someone like Riyan Parag, who is yet to set IPL on fire. R Ashwin’s batting credentials, at least in T20Is, are more than questionable. The Royals also have the smallest squad in place, 22, which leaves them with fewer choices.

Rajasthan Royals at Auction

Rovman Powell (INR 7.4 crore), Shubham Dubey (INR 5.8 crore), Nandre Burger (INR 50 lakh), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (INR 40 lakh), Abid Mushtaq (INR 20 lakh)

Rajasthan Royals Full Squad

Jos Buttler (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (wk), Sanju Samson (capt, wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Singh Rathore (wk), Shubham Dubey, Riyan Parag, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Nandre Burger, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Abid Mushtaq

Punjab Kings Lose Plot by Not Adding Depth

If there’s one team which goofed up, big time, it has to be the Punjab Kings. It looked like they had a lack of clarity over the players they wanted, and ended up with a confused-looking squad. They had a purse of INR 29.1 Cr before the auction began, and they spent close to 20 Cr on Harshal Patel (INR 11.75 crore), and Rilee Rossouw (INR 8 crore).

Fantastic scenes here as the notoriously inept Punjab Kings manage to not only purchase a player they didn’t want, (Shashank Singh), they also admit to this in front of literally everyone. Singh we can guess is sat at home wondering whether to show up in March. #IPLAuction #pbks pic.twitter.com/PtLQv9t07H
— Punjab Kings UK🇬🇧👑 (@PunjabKingsUK) December 19, 2023

The two problems that have really come to the fore for them are — their heavy reliance on overseas players and their inexperienced Indian lot. This only means they would have to make careful selections, as to who to leave out from the foreign resources, as only four can feature in the team.

The PBKS also had to suffer the embarrassment of buying a player by mistake. After buying Shashank Singh, the team tried to un-buy him.

Punjab Kings at Auction

Harshal Patel (INR 11.75 crore), Rilee Rossouw (INR 8 crore), Chris Woakes (INR 4.2 crore), Ashutosh Sharma (INR 20 lakh), Vishwanath Singh (INR 20 lakh), Shashank Singh (INR 20 lakh), Tanay Thyagarajan (INR 20 lakh), Prince Choudhary (INR 20 lakh).

Punjab Kings Full Squad

Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia, Ashutosh Sharma, Shashank Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Chris Woakes, Harshal Patel, Vishwanath Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Prince Choudhary

Cricket Indian Premier League (IPL)