Chennai Super Kings
Owned by India Cements, Chennai Super Kings have been one of the consistent performers at IPL. Finishing as runners-up in the inaugural edition, they bagged the coveted title in 2010. For the first three editions, big ticket Indian players like MS Dhoni rubbed shoulders with international talents like Muttiah Muralitharan, Michael Hussey and Matthew Hayden and rising stars like Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin. The side went all the way at the South Africa edition of CLT20 making 2010 a doubly successful year.Ahead of the IPL Player Auction 2011, the Super Kings retained the services of captain Dhoni, M Vijay, Raina and Albie Morkel. At the auction, not only did they bring back players like S Badrinath, Ashwin, Doug Bollinger and Hussey, but also made some inspired picks like Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plessis. With a good dose of Indian players in their squad including the young Anirudha Srikkanth and Yo Mahesh, the Super Kings look a well-balanced outfit.
Deccan Chargers
After a disappointing first season where they were placed at the bottom of the table, Deccan Chargers had a fairytale second season scripting an incredible turnaround to claim the title. IPL 2010 saw the Chargers make it to the semi-final stage of the competition once again only to lose to the Chennai Super Kings. The star players for the Chargers in the first three editions were RP Singh, Rohit Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds.At the IPL Player Auction 2011, the Chargers went in for a complete overhaul. Some of their expensive signings at the auction were Dale Steyn (USD 1.2 million), Cameron White (USD 1.1 million) and Daniel Christian (USD 900,000). Kevin Pietersen, JP Duminy and Kumar Sangakkara were the big international names while Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Amit Mishra were the prominent Indian players signed up for the next three seasons. Spinner Pragyan Ojha was one of the few players bought back by the Chargers at the auction.
Delhi Daredevils
Going by the talent at their disposal, Delhi Daredevils disappointed their fans by not progressing beyond the semi-final stage in the first three years of the tournament. Back then, the Daredevils, owned by GMR Industries, had a genuine of mix of match-winners in their squad. Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers, Dinesh Karthik and Paul Collingwood formed the batting core of the side. The bowling department was shored up by Dirk Nannes, Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori. Yet the Daredevils, surprisingly, failed to reach the IPL final even once in three years. Virender Sehwag was the only player to be retained by the Daredevils ahead of the IPL Player Auction 2011. Their big buy at the auction was Irfan Pathan who commanded a whopping USD 1.9 million. Some of their other impressive buys were Morne Morkel, David Warner and Umesh Yadav. Australian pacer Andrew McDonald made his way back to the Daredevils squad through the auction.
Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab, owned by the glamourous Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia, made it to the semi-final of the inaugural edition igniting hopes of a glorious IPL career. But subsequent editions of the tournament were less successful for the side from the lion-hearted state. They were placed at the bottom of the table in IPL 2010. Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan were the undisputed Indian stars of the Kings in their first three seasons. Brett Lee, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were some of the big international names in that squad. None of the big stars were retained ahead of the IPL Player Auction 2011. Looking for a change of fortune, the Kings went in for a change of side. The Kings bought a host of new players like Adam Gilchrist (captain), David Hussey, Dinesh Karthik and Praveen Kumar through the auction. Piyush Chawla and Shaun Marsh were the only two players from the Kings’ first three seasons to find their way back through the auction route.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
Bought at the astronomical figure of 1533.32 crore, the Kochi Tuskers Kerala are one of two new franchises in the IPL. Raring to go in their first edition of IPL, the Tuskers hired Australian Geoff Lawson as their coach and successfully bid for a host of bigwigs at the IPL Player Auction 2011. Their major singings include Mahela Jayawardene, Brad Hodge, Muttiah Muralitharan, Michael Klinger, Brendon McCullum and Owais Shah. Jayawardene, who was the franchise’s most expensive buy at the auction (USD 1.5 million), will captain the team.The Kochi squad features familiar Indian names like Parthiv Patel, RP Singh, Vinay Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, Balachandra Akhil and Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Local lad S Sreesanth, who was bought for USD 900,000, helps add to the Tuskers’ Kochi fan base. With the international stars shoring up the batting front and the Indian players shouldering the bulk of the bowling responsibility, the Tuskers are likely to present a good account of themselves in the coming seasons
Kolkata Knight Riders
When Shah Rukh Khan, India's biggest movie star, co-purchased the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, the nation couldn't help but feel an affinity with the side. And when Brendon McCullum stormed into the competition with a whirlwind 158*, it drew a collective gasp of admiration from fans of the sport across the world. Calcutta’s hero Sourav Ganguly helmed the side while John Buchanan powered the think-tank in its first run. But the team could not live up to expectations, failing to qualify for the knockout stage in the first three editions of the IPL.A dramatic makeover followed. The Knight Riders made the two most expensive signings at the IPL Player Auction 2011, buying Gautam Gambhir at USD 2.4 million, Yusuf Pathan at USD 2.1 million and Jacques Kallis at USD 1.1 million. Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Ryan ten Doeschate, Shakib Al Hasan, L Balaji and Manoj Tiwary were the other names enlisted at the auction. But it is the uncapped Indian players – Rajat Bhatia, Pradeep Sangwan, Shreevats Goswami and Iqbal Abdulla – that give the Knight Riders the appearance of a well-rounded side, capable of turning things around this edition.
Mumbai Indians
Owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, Mumbai Indians were the most expensive franchise in the first three seasons of the IPL. Some of the biggest names in the sport, led by the iconic Sachin Tendulkar and including Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga, Dwayne Bravo, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kieron Pollard, were signed up by the heavyweight franchise. Yet, even with such high profile names donning their ranks, Mumbai Indians had a chequered run in the first three editions of IPL. The team failed to qualify for the semi-finals in the first two seasons but made amends by finishing as runners-up in IPL 2010.MI retained Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Kieron Pollard and Lasith Malinga heading into the IPL Player Auction 2011. Their notable signings at the auction were Rohit Sharma (USD 2.1 million), Andrew Symonds (USD 850,000) and Munaf Patel (USD 700,000). Players like Davy Jacobs, Moises Henriques, R Sathish, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ambati Rayudu, James Franklin, Clint McKay and Abu Nechim help make Mumbai a strong contender in the coming seasons.
Pune Warriors India
When the Sahara Group successfully bid 1702 crore for the Pune Warriors in early 2010, the most expensive franchise in IPL history came into being. At the IPL Player Auction 2011, the Warriors made two very expensive signings - Yuvraj Singh at USD 1.8 million and Robin Uthappa at USD 2.1 million. Some of their other buys at the auction were Graeme Smith (USD 500,000), Ashish Nehra (USD 850,000), Angelo Matthews (USD 950,000), Wayne Parnell (USD 160,000) and Jesse Ryder (USD 150,000). Murali Kartik, Callum Ferguson and Nathan McCullum were the other known names taken up at the auction while uncapped Indian players like Mithun Manhas, Manish Pandey, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Dinesh Jadhav and Harpreet Singh give the squad a youthful edge. Yuvraj Singh was named captain of the Warriors in March 2011 while legendary Australian opening batsman Geoff Marsh has taken up coaching responsibilities.
Rajasthan Royals
At the outset, the team from India's princely state didn't quite command the kind of respect and interest that befits royalty. So when the Rajasthan Royals, led by Shane Warne, swept the opposition away and took home the first-ever IPL title, everyone was surprised. Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson were the other big names that powered the side, but it was players like Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar and Ravindra Jadeja that shone.However, the euphoria of that first title-win died down soon as Rajasthan failed to make it to the semi-finals of IPL 2009 and IPL 2010. The only players they retained before the IPL Player Auction 2011 were Shane Warne and Shane Watson. At the auction, Rajasthan minimally engaged in the frenetic bidding. They only bought six players including Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Shaun Tait and Johan Botha. The presence of several Ranji Trophy stars in their ranks – Pankaj Singh, Akash Chopra, Ashok Menaria and Deepak Chahar – is spurring the Royals on in their quest for a second title-win.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
When business tycoon and sports enthusiast bought IPL’s Bangalore franchise for a whopping USD 111.6 million in 2008, good times were expected to follow. Although the Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh in IPL 2008, their fortunes looked up in the subsequent seasons where they finished as runners-up (IPL 2009) and losing semi-finalists (IPL 2010).With Anil Kumble deciding to make himself unavailable as a player before the IPL Player Auction 2011, RCB solely retained the services of the prodigious Virat Kohli. The team came away from the bidding looking like title contenders, having bagged players like Zaheer Khan (USD 900,000), AB de Villiers (USD 1.1 million), Saurabh Tiwary (USD 1.6 million), Tillakaratne Dilshan (USD 650,000) and Dirk Nannes (USD 650,000). Daniel Vettori, Cheteshwar Pujara, Charl Langeveldt and Mohammed Kaif are some of the other significant names in the all-new RCB squad.
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