The teams have started preparing for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. The owners have announced the list of retained players and a few trades on the 20th of January. The teams will be looking to add the required players to strengthen their squad in the auction.
Rajasthan Royals have released as many as eight players including the all-rounder, Tom Curran. There might be a few teams interested in Tom Curran, given the players they have released. Tom Curran can be a decent backup for those teams as he provides the balance to the team.
In this article, we take a look at the teams that might be interested in Tom Curran:
1. Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders might be one of the teams that can target Tom Curran in the auction. Curran can be a decent pick for the Knight Riders, given there aren’t many pacer all-rounders in the team. Except Andre Russell, there are no such players of that category.
Eoin Morgan, being the captain of the England white-ball team, would be knowing Curran’s game quite well. This might also lead KKR to give Tom Curran a chance in the upcoming season. Since Andre Russell is an injury-prone, Curran can replace him in his absence.
2. Sunrisers Hyderabad
The second team that might be interested in getting Tom Curran is Sunrisers Hyderabad. They have released a total of five players, including the Caribbean all-rounder Fabian Allen. Since Mitchell Marsh is an injury-prone, Tom Curran can be a good backup option for Jason Holder in the SRH squad.
The Hyderabad-based franchise have a wallet of 10.75 Crores left – which is the lowest among all the teams. Hence, they wouldn’t be able to spend that much on the big players like Chris Morris and Glenn Maxwell. Tom Curran, being a low-budget player, can be picked easily by them in the auctions.
3. Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore, who finished fourth in the points table last season, might also try to bid for Tom Curran. They have released as many as 10 players, including the high-budget players like Chris Morris and Shivam Dube. Hence, they lack the pacer all-rounders in their squad now, and Tom Curran can be an option to fill that void.
RCB have traded in Daniel Sams from Delhi Capitals, but Sams isn’t completely ready for the IPL level as of now. Thus, Curran can be a better pick for them in the auction. With a huge budget of 35.70 Crores, the Virat Kohli-led side can even go for any other all-rounder along with Tom Curran as well.
4. Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab might be the most interested team in grabbing Tom Curran in the auction. They have evacuated their squad by releasing a total of seven players from their squad ahead of the mini-auction. The players like Glenn Maxwell, Jimmy Neesham and Sheldon Cottrell have been shown the exit gate by the team management.
Hence, Kumble and co would be eager to bring in the experienced bowling all-rounders in their team. Tom Curran, being a T20 specialist, can be one of the players under their radar. The Englishman can solve a few woes of the KL Rahul-led team if picked up in the upcoming auction.
