IPL 2021 Auction: 10 Players from this year's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy who can make it big
The auction for the upcoming 2021 Indian Premier League will take place on February 18 in Chennai. Besides the presence of many foreign stars who will go under the hammer, the 2021 IPL auction also hosts a large pool of uncapped Indian players who will attract bids from the cash-rich franchises.
The recently-concluded 2021 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy posed a perfect audition for the auctions, as it was the first domestic national cricket tournament organized by the BCCI in India since the COVID-19 lockdown.
Many players; young and experienced, impressed and guided their sides to success throughout the tournament. For the upcoming IPL 2021 Auctions, we list out 10 of such players who are likely to draw eyeballs from the IPL sides.
Mohammed Azharudeen (Kerala)
The Kerala-born namesake of former Indian captain lit up the Wankhede night with an incredible 54-ball 137* against Mumbai, becoming an overnight sensation on social media.
Azharudeen slammed 9 fours and 11 sixes, putting up the highest score by an Indian in a run-chase in the shortest format of the game. His innings steered Kerala to an 8-wicket win, as the side chased down a 197-run target with 25 balls to spare.
The 26-year-old opener continued to provide quick starts in other games for Kerala too, raking up an 18-ball 30 against Puduchery and a 25-ball 35 against Haryana.
Avi Barot (Saurashtra)
Barot scored 283 runs in five matches for Saurashtra at a stunning strike-rate of 184.96. This also included a century against Goa (122 off 53 balls), and a 54-ball 93 against Vidarbha.
Besides, Barot also kept wickets for the side in two of their five group games in the absence of regular keeper Harvik Desai.
Barot's power-hitting in the top-order, coupled with his ability as a backup wicketkeeper could attract added intrigue among the franchises for the player.
Lukman Meriwala (Baroda)
Meriwala played a key role in Baroda's run to the final of the tournament. He picked up 15 wickets in 8 matches, including a career-best figure of 5/8 against Chhattisgarh, and 3/28 against Punjab in the semifinal.
He boasted of an average of 13.26 in the tournament, with an impressive economy rate of 6.52.
In the final, Meriwala dismissed the tournament's top-scorer, Narayan Jagadeesan early in the innings, but Baorda eventually conceded a seven-wicket defeat.
Vishnu Solanki (Baroda)
In the quarterfinal of the SMAT, Baroda looked down and out after the side required 15 runs off the final three deliveries to beat Haryana. Solanki, then, stunned all with a 6, 4, 6 to send his side to the semifinal of the tournament.
Solanki scored two fifty-plus scores and a 49, ending the SMAT 2021 as its fifth-highest run-getter (267 runs in eight matches).
Chetan Sakariya (Saurashtra)
With 12 wickets to his name in five matches, Sakariya has the lowest economy rate (4.90) among the top-10 wicket-takers in the tournament.
He took his career-best figures (5/11) against Vidarbha.
Like Meriwala, he is another Indian left-arm option; something which has been in limited numbers in the Indian Premier League so far.
Atit Sheth (Baroda)
Sheth was another important member of Baroda's bowling lineup in their run to the final of the tournament. The 25-year-old medium-pace bowler took wickets in all but one game, and his best figures of the tournament came against Mumbai (4/17).
Besides, Sheth also provides a handy batting option. He played a 29-run innings against Tamil Nadu in the final after a batting collapse, ensuring the side's total goes past the 100-run mark. In fact, Sheth averages 71.50 with the bat in T20Is, having faced 110 balls in his career so far, with a strike-rate of 130!
Vivek Singh (Bengal)
Bengal may have had a brief campaign in the 2021 edition of SMAT, but Vivek Singh was a silver lining from their tournament. Singh batted with an average of 69.33 for his 208 runs in five matches, which included an unbeaten century against Jharkhand.
Besides, he also had an impressive strike-rate of 157.57.
Vaibhav Arora (Himachal Pradesh)
Arora made his debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year, and secured 10 wickets in six matches in the tournament.
His performance against Tamil Nadu in the quarterfinal was a head-turner, as Arora not only bowled a maiden, but also picked up three wickets for 30 runs.
He dismissed both the openers (C Hari Nishanth and N Jagadeesan) to put Tamil Nadu on backfoot in the 136-run chase, but Dinesh Karthik's side eventually recovered to beat Himachal by five wickets.
Venkatesh Iyer (Madhya Pradesh)
Iyer scored 227 runs in five matches in the tournament, including an impressive 88-run knock against Saurashtra in the group stage.
Iyer had an average of 75.66 and a strike-rate within touching distance of 150.
Sheldon Jackson (Puducherry)
A renowned name in the Indian domestic circuit, Jackson has played in the IPL in the past and will be aiming to make a place in the tournament again.
Playing at number 3 for Puducherry, Jackson scored 242 runs in five matches at a staggering average of 80.66, and a strike rate of over 155. His credentials as a regular wicketkeeper in the domestic circuit provides him an extra edge, with multiple IPL franchises currently on the lookouts for a backup keeper-batsman.
