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Summary of All Pre-Auction Player Trades for IPL 2020

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IPL 2020 all pre-auction player trades summary

The IPL auction will be held on the 19th of December in Kolkata. And the teams have already started planning for the upcoming season of the lucrative tournament. In this article, we will see a quick summary of all the pre-auction player trades for IPL 2020.

As many as 11 players were traded from one team to another this year before the IPL auctions. Last year, we had seen 7 player trades. Thus, the concept of the trade window, which is similar to the transfer window of football, has gained momentum this year.

The most active team in this player trading activity is Delhi Capitals. They are followed closely by Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Royals, and Mumbai Indians.

Kolkata Knight Riders have signed only one player as part of the trades.

On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore along with their Southern rivals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings, decided to stay away from trading any players this year.

Let us take a quick look at all the pre-auction player trades that have happened this year:

1. R Ashwin to DC, Suchith to KXIP

The most high profile trade of this season’s IPL was that of Ravichandran Ashwin. The Kings XI Punjab’s captain switched sides to Delhi Capitals after two seasons with the Punjab franchise.

The former Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants player was bought by the Punjab franchise for Rs 7.6 crores in the 2018 IPL mega auction.

The offspinner was among the top three wicket-takers for the KXIP. He took 25 wickets in 2 seasons for the 2014 finalists.

But he couldn’t lead the side to the playoffs in spite of being in a comfortable position at the halfway stage.

Ashwin took 15 wickets in the 2019 season in 14 matches at an economy rate of 7.27, while in the 2018 season he had taken 10 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 8.09.

The Mohali pitch which is better suited for pacers had always been a big challenge for the spinners. And now Ashwin will find it more comfortable at Delhi with the surface of the Arun Jaitley Stadium assisting the spinners.

The 2-time IPL champion has been out of the Indian limited-overs sides since 2017. He will look to use this move as an opportunity to impress the selectors.

Left-arm spinner Jagadeesha Suchith was traded to the Kings XI Punjab from the Delhi Capitals in this swap deal.

Suchith played only one match last year for the Delhi Capitals, in which he scored six runs and took two wickets.

Earlier, Suchith had made his IPL debut in 2015. He was first bought by Mumbai Indians and had played 13 games in that debut season.

Summary IPL 2020 all player trades before auctions

2. K Gowtham to KXIP, Ankit Rajpoot to RR

As KXIP were in need of a lead spinner after Ashwin’s departure, they completed the trade of Krishnappa Gowtham from the Rajasthan Royals. The Karnataka all-rounder has the potential to turn the game around in all the three departments of the game.

He was bought by the Royals in the 2018 mega-auction for a whopping Rs 6.2 crores and didn’t disappoint with SR of 196 in that edition and picking up 11 wickets.

However, he failed to replicate that form in the following season with a solitary wicket to his name and just 18 runs in 7 matches.

With KXIP without the likes of Ashwin and Chakravarthy, Gowtham will don the hat of the lead spinner.

The franchise has also released the English all-rounder, Sam Curran. And that means that Gowtham will also be entrusted with the responsibility of finishing matches for the franchise.

Ankit Rajpoot who was a part of KXIP since 2018 has gone the other way. The pacer had a below-par 2019 IPL with just 3 wickets at an economy rate of 9.5.

With Rajasthan Royals trading out Dhawal Kulkarni and releasing Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot will mostly be a regular feature in the Royal’s starting XI.

3. Boult to MI

Trent Boult was traded to the Mumbai Indians by the Delhi Capitals.

Boult had 18 wickets to his name in 14 matches in the 2018 edition but only managed five wickets in the 2019 season.

Thus was dropped midway through the 2019 season.

The franchise had Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Ishant Sharma as pacers and with the Kiwi being overseas players it was for him to find a place in the side.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have released Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff, Beuran Hendricks, and Alzarri Joseph.

And with Lasith Malinga unlikely to play in all the 14 matches, Boult will most likely be a certainty in the XI.

Fans are already excited to see Trent Boult bowl in tandem with Jasprit Bumrah.

4. Rahane to DC, Tewatia-Markande to RR

Delhi Capitals have been one of the most active teams in the trading window.

They have traded some high profile players from various franchises and one of them was Ajinkya Rahane.

The opener was a part of the Rajasthan Royals since the 2011 edition. And was the leading run-scorer in the franchise’s history with 2810 runs, at a healthy average of 34 and a strike rate of 122 in the IPL.

Rahane was sacked as the captain of the 2008 champions midway through the tournament last season due to some poor results.

However, Rahane had scored a century against his current team, Capitals, immediately after being sacked as the captain.

Due to the below-par strike rate as compared to the current standards and skipper Steve Smith with a similar style of play, the Royals often had slow starts to their innings.

Delhi Capitals are already a top-order heavy side with Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, and Shreyas Iyer, a part of the side. It will be interesting to see whether the Capitals will tinker with their top-order combination.

But one thing is true, Rahane is a calm, composed and a very experienced player. And Delhi Capitals will look to benefit from these qualities in their quest for the IPL title.

Rajasthan Royals bought from Delhi Capitals. the left-handed batsman and right-arm leg-spinner from Haryana, Rahul Tewatia.

Mayank Markande took a slightly longer trade route. He had to wait before he got to know which team jersey he is going to actually wear in the IPL 2020.

First, he was traded from Mumbai Indians to Delhi Capitals in August. And then from there, he was traded to Rajasthan Royals in November.

The Royals had already traded out Gowtham and the duo above is his replacement.

5. D Kulkarni to MI, Rutherford to MI

Dhawal Kulkarni has got a homecoming of sorts as he returns to the 4-time champions Mumbai Indians. The pacer will be a back-up to Jasprit Bumrah but hasn’t got over 10 wickets for 3 seasons now.

Mumbai Indians bought left-handed batsman Sherfane Rutherford from the Delhi Capitals.

The Guyanese player didn’t get enough opportunities with the Capitals last year.

Like Kulkarni, Rutherford, most-likely, will play the role of a back-up player to his fellow Caribbean team-mate, Kieron Pollard.

6. Siddhesh Lad to KKR

The final transfer before the deadline was of the Mumbai state team’s ‘crisis man’ Siddhesh Lad.

He was with the Mumbai Indians team since 2015, winning 3 IPL titles but only made his debut in the 2019 edition.

He made his debut at the Wankhede Stadium against Kings XI Punjab, as the middle-order batsman. This happened as Rohit Sharma was injured. Lad hit the first ball he faced in IPL for a six. What a way to start the IPL career!

With Rinku Singh and Robin Uthappa released by KKR, the two-time champions wanted Indian options in the middle order. And with his experience in the domestic circuit, Lad seems to be a good choice to have for the Knight Riders.

This was Trevor Bayliss coached side’s only trade in the window before the auction.

Okay! So that was the quick summary of all the IPL 2020 pre-auction player trades. So now that the teams have re-shuffled a bit and got rid of some players, whom they considered weaker links of the teams, we are all set for the IPL 2020 auctions. Which team are you supporting and which player do you want your favorite team to buy in the auction? Let us know in the comments section below.

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