IPL Teams : IPL Details : Team Structure : IPL Dimension : IPL Take 2

The second round of IPL auctions are over and a clear picture is emerging about the strengths and weaknesses of the squads. Like after the first round, TOI sizes up the options available for the skippers

HYDERABAD

Far and away a dream Twenty20 line-up when it comes to batting firepower. Spoilt for choice when it comes to openers, with Gilchrist, Afridi and Gibbs around. With the likes of Symonds, Styris, Laxman, Sharma and Silva shoring up the middle order, this is one team which can pack a mean punch. Hyderabad, unhampered by the presence of an icon player, pulled out all the stops in the first auction and didn't have much to do in the second. RP Singh and Chaminda Vaas offer quality seam options, although the presence of an additional pacer wouldn't hurt because the seam options lack variety. Pragyan Ojha (if he gets a look-in), Afridi and Symonds will bolster the spin department. Probably the best fielding side around, too, with Gibbs and Symonds leading the way.

SQUAD: VVS LAXMAN (CAPT), Andrew Symonds, Rudra Pratap Singh, Rohit Sharma, Adam Gilchrist (wicketkeeeper), Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs, Chaminda Vaas, Scott Styris, Nuwan Zoysa, Chamara Silva, Halhadar Das (wicketkeeper), Pragyan Ojha, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Paidikalva Vijaykumar, Arjun Yadav, D Kalyankrishna, Venugopal Rao; Coach: Robin Singh

RAJASTHAN ROYALS

The definite winners in the second auction. Warne's captaincy will be tested to the hilt in spite of the valuable presence of Mascarenhas because of the lack of good local players. Unnecessarily stacked up in foreign talent, given only four players can take the field. Appears a bit too reliant on Smith and Pathan for providing the big-hitting punch, while Munaf's presence makes the fielding appear shoddy. The middle-order has good nudgers and pushers, busy players like Younis who can keep the scoreboard ticking. Akmal will be expected to rise to the occasion. Kohli, Pankaj and Jadeja offer an exciting mix. Initially, though, all eyes will be on Watson.
SQUAD: SHANE WARNE (CAPT AND COACH), Yusuf Pathan, Graeme Smith, Mohammad Kaif, Munaf Patel, Younis Khan, Justin Langer, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shane Watson, Morne Morkel, Sohail Tanvir, Taruwar Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Pankaj Singh, Anup Revandkar

DELHI DAREDEVILS:

The quality of available local talent is expected to swing it for this side. Sehwag and Vettori provide the only spin options in a team boasting a canny pace array in Mohammad Asif and Glenn McGrath. Manoj Tiwary offers options in the middle, and Rajat Bhatia and Shikhar Dhawan can give the best a run for their money. Good batting depth, a swanky fielding outfit and Sehwag's clever leadership offer promise. The only weakness is the lack of a genuinely fast pace bowling option.
SQUAD: VIRENDER SEHWAG (CAPT), Gautam Gambhir, Manoj Tiwary, Mohammad Asif, Daniel Vettori, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Malik, Glenn McGrath, Abraham de Villiers, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Farveez Maharoof, Pradeep Sangwan, Brett Geeves, Rajat Bhatia, Shikhar Dhawan, Yo Mahesh, Mithun Manhas, Mayank Tehlan, Manoj Tewary; Coach: Greg Shipperd

BANGALORE ROYAL CHALLENGERS

Rahul Dravid will be delighted with the purchase of Misbah-ul Haq, which adds more T20 oomph to a batting line-up in danger of appearing too conventional. Wasim Jaffer, Chanderpaul, Dravid and Kallis wouldn't exactly set a T20 fan's heartbeat soaring, but then good batsmen have always been known to adapt. Bharat Chipli and J Arunkumar will be hoping for an opportunity up the order. This is basically a squad with a pace attack to die for, with the presence of Steyn, Zaheer and Bracken. Vinay Kumar is in elite company. Boucher is excellent value for T20 money, and watch out for Cameron White, Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli too.
SQUAD: RAHUL DRAVID
(CAPT), Jacques Kallis, Anil Kumble, Cameron White, Zaheer Khan, Mark Boucher (wicketkeeper), Nathan Bracken, Dale Steyn, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wasim Jaffer, Misbah-ul Haq, Virat Kohli, Abdur Razzak, Ross Taylor, Shreevats Goswami (wicketkeeper), B Akhil, KP Appanna, Jagadeep Arunkumar, Bharat Chipli, Sunil Joshi, Devraj Patil, Vinay Kumar; Coach: Venkatesh Prasad

MOHALI

In Hopes, the most expensive signing in the second auction, the squad has added a utility all-rounder. A judicious mix of big names and some rising U-19 stars ensure Yuvraj couldn't have asked for better choices on paper. But his problem will be picking which international stars to play. Otherwise wellrepresented in both pace and spin. The biggest worry for the squad is that it is tanked up on middle-order batsmen and finishers but hasn't really explored the option of having quality openers.
SQUAD: YUVRAJ SINGH (CAPT), Irfan Pathan, Brett Lee, Kumar Sangakkara (wicketkeeper), Sree Santh, Mahela Jayawardene, Piyush Chawla, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Simon Katich, Ramesh Powar, James Hopes, Luke Pomersbach, Kyle Mills, Tanmay Srivastava, Ajitesh Argal, Karan Goel, Uday Kaul, VRV Singh; Coach: Tom Moody

CHENNAI SUPERKINGS

Wears a well-rounded look. MS Dhoni's canny captaincy and big-hitting prowess, and the presence of Hayden, Raina and allrounder Oram offer enough explosive potential. Hussey and Fleming can do a repair job, while Ntini adds punch to the pace line-up. And don't forget Albie Morkel. A good mix of all-rounders, but wonder what Parthiv Patel is doing in there. Muralitharan will be handy. Overall, a fine fielding outfit with enough T20 experience.
SQUAD: MS DHONI (CAPT), Jacob Oram, Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel, Muttiah Muralitharan, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Stephen Fleming, Parthiv Patel, Joginder Sharma, Makhaya Ntini, Napoleon Einstein, Abhinav Mukund, Shadab Jakati, S Badrinath, S Anirudha, Sudeep Tyagi, R Ashwin; Coach: Kepler Wessels

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

SRK has obviously tried his best to go for crowd pullers. Shoaib and Agarkar are experienced but erratic, leaving Gul as the more bankable option with the ball on the field. In the batting, Ganguly, Ponting and McCullum will have their hands full, and the captain will be hoping Gayle comes good more often than not. Hussey will prop up a middle-order which wears a weak look without Ponting.
SQUAD: SOURAV GANGULY (CAPT), Ishant Sharma, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum (wicketkeeper), David Hussey, Shoaib Akhtar, Murali Kartik, Ricky Ponting, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Saurashish Lahiri, Ajit Agarkar, Umar Gul, Tatenda Taibu (wicketkeeper), Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Siddarth Kaul, Iqbal Abdullah, Wriddhiman Saha, Rohan Banerjee, Ranadeb Bose (expected to join); Coach: John Buchanan

MUMBAI INDIANS

The only team without a big-name wicketkeeper, this is Pinal Shah's chance to shine on the big stage. The addition of Manish Pandey, Saurabh Tiwary and Ashwell Prince has beefed up the batting, which wore a thin look after the first auction. The explosive top-order, though, can more than make up for it. The real strength is the bowling attack: Pollock, Fernando and Harbhajan, with Tendulkar and Jayasuriya pitching in.
SQUAD: SACHIN TENDULKAR
(CAPT), Sanath Jayasuriya, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Shaun Pollock, Lasith Malinga, Loots Bosman, Dilhara Fernando, Ashwell Prince, Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Pinal Shah (wicketkeeper), Yogesh Takawala (wicketkeeper). Coach: Not decided