How mega-auction levelled playing ground for all teams, but CSK & MI?

For years, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have dominated the Indian Premier League, but in IPL 2022, the tables have turned. Mumbai have won the silverware five times, while CSK have lifted the title four times before the 15th edition. However, this year, the two of the most considerable dominant forces are struggling to find their feet, and the biggest reason is the IPL mega auction that took place a few months back.

Mumbai and Chennai's success in the league are down to the core that they have managed to keep intact over the years. The Mumbai-based franchise rejigged its core once they appointed Rohit Sharma as their skipper, while CSK have had a dependable core right from the start of the league.

But the core went missing for both the teams in the mega-auction as they lost out on some of their biggest stars. 

CSK's struggle with changing core

The Yellove army lost out on Faf du Plessis, and they decided against bidding for Suresh Raina, two players who have been a massive reason for their success in the past. Another central talking point from their auction strategy was that they opted for some of their former players, who are in the twilight of their careers. So while they still have the majority of their stars in their playing XI, they lack that X-factor.

Just before the start of the league MS Dhoni handed over the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja, and as things stand, he is far from ready to take over the reins from one of the best skippers in world cricket. While captaincy is still not their most significant issue with Dhoni present behind the wickets, the primary concern is the player Jadeja who has succumbed under pressure. The star Indian all-rounder is far from his best and is not having an impact one expects Sir Jadeja to have on the game's result.

Bravo is still the leader of their pace attack, which is a significant concern for CSK, he still might have it in him, but for how long can he continue. Deepak Chahar would have been the star man of the pace attack, but injury has ruined his chances to be the leader of the attack. Adam Milne was the other star pacer that Chennai was going to rely on, but his injury hasn't helped them either.

Mumbai's uncertain Game-plan

Mumbai Indians were a bit of colour in the auction as they seemed to have focused entirely on Ishan Kishan and didn't push hard for some of their star players who still have a few years of cricket left in them. Missing out on Boult, Quinton de Kock, and the Pandya brothers seems to have disrupted the core of their team.

The Mumbai based franchise is known for taking decisions that are based on straightforward tactics, but this time the, emotions seem to have taken over their decision making. The fact that they still believe in Kieron Pollard, the finisher, over some other big names in the world is something that very few can wrap their heads around. 

Mumbai went hard for Tim David and managed to get his signatures, but they haven't backed him this season. Spending around INR 9 crores on a player and having him on the bench clearly doesn't help your cause. Rohit's men need to put their trust in David, and he might be the ideal replacement for Pollard.

MI have been fielding an XI that sometimes has three or even two foreigners, which doesn't help them even if they have the best of Indian young talent, which they clearly don't. Next time around, Archer's availability will surely strengthen their bowling unit, but what about the middle order and, to be precise, where is your star spinner? How long are they planning to trust Murugan Ashwin with the task of turning matches around?

With both the giants of IPL struggling, the playing ground seems to level, and there is an opportunity for other teams to step up and establish themselves as the next big thing in the Indian Premier League. Of course, it won't be easy to overthrow the giants, but it seems possible at this point in time. 

MI and CSK will surely try to establish a core over the next few years to maintain their dominance in the toughest twenty, but the other teams have a head start and could capitalise on this situation.