Sports team preparation for player auction: IPL mega auction 2022

 

It is most important and hard to find out right team combination for any sports league. There is always dynamic situation at auction table and strategy needs to be looked after each player auction. This is very big task when there are a greater number of teams. Each fan eagerly waits for auction day and predicts players to be part of his favorite team. This is also very important when there will not be such kind of big auction in next foreseeable future. So, each team needs to create their best team looking at long future in mind. However, teams will get chance in future to trade players between teams and small auctions. But that will only serve minor short-term requirements. Full mega auction is highly crucial to build team.

 

Every team works as per their own way. But there are few points common for all teams which they consider while selection of player auction strategy. Following are some points:

1. Deciding core idea of a team

Every team wants best team utilizing optimized resources. So why core idea of a team is important? Before answering to this question, let’s understand about core idea of a team.

A team management decides together before mega auction and as first step to prepare for mega auction about core idea. This core will be different for all teams. For example, one team may decide all batsman from India and key bowlers from foreign or some may target only all-rounders or some may prepare complete young squad or some may go for right mix of experience and youth or some may go for 4-5 best star players and others are uncapped. Ideas are plenty but it should be decided in first place.

Core idea of a team is very important. For example, CSK and MI are most successful IPL teams and they did not change their core idea like captainship, team combination, player roles. It is one of the reasons for their success in IPL.

 

2. Decide target players and divide them as per priority

After deciding core idea of team, next step is to decide on players which can be part of team. This step is to shorten down funnel from ‘all available’ to ‘all required’ players.

Then decision is to be taken for priority of players. Some players are required for making playing team and some players are required for back ups for main team. Some players are required as reserved which can be mentored and prepared for future.

For example, let’s say teams can divide all players in A, B, C categories. Players in A category will constitute main playing team. Players in B category will constitute back ups for category A players and Players in C category will be uncapped young scouted players.

 

3. Decide possible auctioned price range for each player

Every player in auction has his base price. From this base price, team starts auction process. Team decides performance of players in their selected categories (A, B, C). Also, it is good to predict about number of teams targeting individual player. Based on the same, each player is given possible auctioned price range within their categories A, B, C.

 

4. Decide auction purse value among categories of players

Each team has its remaining purse for auction. Teams need to play within their purse range. So, after deciding target players in various categories with possible auctioned price range, purse amount is to be divided between A, B, C categories. Based on this data, team management can understand how far they can go in auction to get one player. This will create auction price cut off for each and every player.

For example, each team in IPL has remaining purse after their retention and draft players finalization. Mumbai Indians has INR 42 Cr to spend. Out of which, they may decide ratio of spend as 50% in A category (INR 21 Cr), 40% in B category (INR 17 Cr) and 10% in C category (INR 4 Cr). This is just for an example. Each team decides its own strategies.

 

5. Real time auction simulations

Auction is very dynamic and each situation needs quick decision to make. So as last step before auction, team needs to simulate real auction experience among team members and try to find out observations, experiences. Also, teams can check past auction proceedings and learn from those experiences.

 

Above steps are basic steps and each step needs lot of brain storming, data gathering. It is also difficult to pick and choose from large pool of players. After so much preparation, nobody can confirm surely about actual proceedings at auction.