The years 2013 was their worst possible year with just three wins in 16 matches and a bottom-place finish. They were the only team to start with a clean sheet and a full purse of Rs 60 crore for the auction in Bangalore on Wednesday.
With former India coach Gary Kirsten in their corner, the Daredevils had the advantage of three 'right-to-match' cards at their disposal. On the first day, they just used the first of those cards to net the prize catch in Kevin Pietersen for Rs 9 crore after Sunrisers Hyderabad had netted the Englishman.
Pietersen was the biggest reason why Daredevils made the knockout stages in 2012. He had 305 runs in just eight games and the former England captain was sorely missed last season. With the big one in their net, Daredevils eyed a top Indian player. Yuvraj Singh went out of their grasp but they didn't miss out on Dinesh Karthik - one of Mumbai Indians' success stories, bidding as high as Rs 12.5 crore for the TN stumper.
The owners, though, have no regrets. "The first day of the auction was pretty much according to plan. There are very few quality Indian batsmen available and (Dinesh) Karthik was one of them. That's why we didn't mind bidding hard for him," Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua told TOI on Wednesday.
GMR, owners of the Daredevils franchise, were much more judicious in the rest of their buys. Unlike 2013, the focus has been on Indian specialists like Murali Vijay, Manoj Tiwary, Mohammad Shami, Jaydev Unadkat and Rahul Sharma while the all-rounders are proven international performers like JP Duminy (SA) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (Australia).
They are now one of the best-placed teams heading into the second day of the auction with Rs 8.6 crore at their disposal and a minimum of three players required. The Devils will eye the uncapped spinners to bolster their slow-bowling department alongside Rahul Sharma. "We'll definitely not be looking to go up to 27 players. We'll look to fill our squad with about 20-23 players. The focus has been on the Indian talent which proves critical in the tournament," Dua added.
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