File photo of Shreyas Iyer and David Warner
The mega auction ahead of Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL 2022) is just around the corner and all the 10 franchises are gearing up to handpick players from a group of 590 players (370 Indian, 220 overseas). Out of these 590 cricketers, 228 are capped players, 355 are uncapped players and seven belong to Associate Nations. With the addition of two new teams to the cash-rich league, the fans will get to see more bidding wars.
IPL Auction 2022 LIVE Updates from Bengaluru
Let's have a look at Indian and foreign players who could attract the highest bids in IPL 2022 auction:
Indian Players
File Photo of Mohammed Shami
Former Punjab Kings bowler Mohammed Shami was not retained by the franchise as they retained only two players in the name of Mayank Agarwal and uncapped Indian pacer Akshdeep Singh. Mohammed Shami revived his limited-overs career with some stellar performances in India colours in the last two years and was picked up by PBKS for a hefty price tag of INR 4.8 crore in the 2019 auction.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Former Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings player R Ashwin revived his career in limited-overs cricket with superb perfomance in the last few IPL season for Delhi Capitals. The off-spinner was transferred from Punjab to Delhi for 7.6 crores. In the last three seasons, the veteran Indian spinners picked 35 wickets and have an economy of around 6.
Shreyas Iyer
File Photo of Shreyas Iyer
Former Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer, who can be a captaincy option as well, is likely to fetch the highest bid in the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022. The Indian batter provides stability in the middle order and is an acrobatic fielder as well. Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders are the teams who are looking for a leader.
India opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, who was among the highest run-scorer of last season, will be available in the auction as he was not retained by the Delhi Capitals. Delhi paid Dhawan 5.2 cr last year. Dhawan fetched his highest salary in the IPL auction in 2014 when he was bought by SRH for 12.5 cr.
Ishan Kishan
File photo of Ishan Kishan
Mumbai Indians surprisingly released the young explosive batter Ishan Kishan ahead of the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. The wicketkeeper has scored 1,452 runs in 61 IPL matches since 2016, with a strike rate of 136.33. The 23-year old was bought by MI in the IPL 2018 auction for a price of 6.20 crores and is expected to attract huger bids, with his base price set at 2 crores INR.
Foreign Players
David Warner
Former Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner is one of the biggest names in the IPL 2022 auction. Warner is an explosive opening batsman who can walk into any team and has leadership qualities as well. However, his last captaincy experience with SRH was not ideal but one must not forget that he lead the Hyderabad franchise to title triumph in 2016.
File Photo of Trent Boult
Former Mumbai Indians pacer Trent Boult is one of the best fast bowlers in the IPL 2022 auction. The left-arm pacer has expertise in taking wickets upfront in the powerplay and will be a valuable addition to any team. Mumbai Indians will aim to buy him back and reunite him with Jasprit Bumrah to form a deadly pace bowling attack.
File photo of Pat Cummins
Former Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Pat Cummins was bought by the franchise for 15.5 crores in the 2020 IPL auction. The Australian failed to put up a good show in the season with the ball however he managed to score some handy yet quick runs in the lower order and can be considered as a fast-bowling all-rounder. Considering the fact that there are very few all-rounders in the IPL 2022 auction list, Cummins can fancy his chances of becoming a millionaire once again.
Former Mumbai Indians wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock is one of the most exciting batsmen in world cricket. The left-handed batsman loves to attack the bowlers and his game is ideally suited for the shorter format of the game. Quinton de Kock had a terrific 2020 season, scoring 503 runs including four half-centuries at the top. However, his form went south in the 2021 edition where he could only amass 297 runs in 11 games. de Kock will be a valuable addition to any team he plays for and many teams will bid on him in IPL 2022 auction.
File Photo of Kagiso Rabada
South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada represented Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 where he picked 15 wickets with an economy of 8.14. Rabada was not retained by Delhi as the side went with Rabada's countrymate Anrich Nortje. Rabada was bought by Delhi for 4.2 cr in 2017 and is likely to fetch a higher price in IPL 2022 auction.
