Though India is playing Australia Down Under, all eyes of sports-lovers are on the IPL auction table. On 18 December, in Jaipur, 346 cricketers will to go under the hammer for the 2019 edition of the tournament, and attention will be on the nine players with the highest reserve price. Brendon McCullum, Chris Woakes, Lasith Malinga, Shaun Marsh, Colin Ingram, Corey Anderson, Angelo Mathews, D’Arcy Short and Sam Curran have opted for the highest price bracket. Among them, McCullum scored unbeaten 158 not out off just 73 balls in the opening game of IPL in 2008.
No local talent is in the highest base price. Jaydev Unadkat went to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 11.5 crore in the last auction. He is the highest-priced Indian at Rs 1.5 crore. He is followed by Mohammed Shami, Yuvraj Singh and Axar Patel who will invite first bids at Rs 1 crore. Another notable development will be the absence of auctioneer Richard Madley, who became a regular feature during the IPL auctions over the years. Hugh Edmeades, described as an independent fine art, classic car and charity auctioneer, will be the new gavel master.
Considered a stepping stone for success, the IPL auction will be crucial this time round. The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant among others made it big starting with IPL. All franchises will be working overtime to get the right combination. It’s time to wait and watch.