IPL auction 2022: You can’t help some players getting more money, says RCB’s Mike Hesson
KKR management feels that their team should be equipped to perform on all conditions
Kolkata: The scenario is hotting up for the mega auction of 10-team IPL 2022 in Bengaluru, though the teams are keeping their cards close to their chest about the strategy to be adapted over those two days. Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are still looking for that elusive first title, flew Mike Hesson, their Director of Cricket Operations into Bengaluru with still a good 10 days to go and the next few days will see their think tank huddled over a strategy.
The Bangalore franchise have retained former captain Virat Kohli, Australian allrounder Glenn Maxwell and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, while the notable omissions had been previous edition’s Purple Cap winner Harshal Patel and long serving leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Their remaining purse value stands at Rs 57 crore and the fans are particularly intrigued as to whom they would be eyeing as a potential captain who can match the aura of Kohli.
Admitting that an auction does not necessarily reflect the right price tag of a player, Hesson - the former New Zealand chief coach and one of the finest tactical brains in the game - said at a podcast: ‘‘The tipping point for a team at the auction is how far you can go for a player so that it does not disturb the team’s plans for the rest of the auction. We tend to look at packages while going for the bidding and in the process, some get more than what they deserve and some get less It’s something that cannot be helped.’’
It’s been a drill for the IPL teams to engage in ‘mock auctions’ around this time and Kolkata Knight Riders have launched an interactive exercise with their fans to pick their brains on what could be the ideal playing XI they would want to see. The two-time champions, who bounced back in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 last year to finish runners-up, have retained the quartet of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer and Varun Chakravarthy.
During an interactive session with their fans on Wednesday, their bowling coach Bharat Arun and A.R.Srikkanth, the head of talent scouting, agreed that with the venue country not yet decided, the team has to be chosen in a way so that it can fit the bill for all occasions.
Covering all bases
‘‘I think as a team, when you go into an auction, you want to build your team and you want to cover all your bases. You want to build a team where you can go and play in any condition against different opponents,’’ said Srikkanth.
Echoing similar sentiments, Arun - a much-respected coach who is credited with harnessing the talent of the current pace battery in Indian national team, said: ‘‘You need to pick players who can adapt to different conditions. Even before the pandemic, when you picked bowlers for home conditions, you still needed them to play seven away games in the IPL. See, with the Indian side, our goal was always to be number one in any conditions. To be able to achieve that objective, I think the biggest challenge was to have bowlers who could excel and who could get to 20 wickets in all conditions. We did exactly that, and that’s why we were succesful’’ he added.