Chennai: The Indian Premier League auction is back within a year. This is the first instance of two IPL auctions being held in one calendar year.
When in January, we witnessed a full IPL auction where franchises built their squads brick by brick. The auction for 2019, which will be held today in Jaipur is more about filling the vacant slots available for the franchises and can be termed as a mini-auction.
However, the auction has not come at the right time. Uncertainty looms large in terms of the venue for this year’s IPL due to the general elections. With UAE and South Africa being the most sought after venues outside India, the BCCI is still unsure about the venue.
So the franchises go into the auction without knowing in which conditions their team will be playing and have to pick a squad that has to acclimatise to all conditions.
Moreover, with 2019, being the World Cup year, most of the franchises will not have the services of Australia, Sri Lanka, England and South Africa players for the second-half of the season. Only West Indies and New Zealand players will be available for the full season and the franchises should also look for quick replacements to their foreign stars.
A pool of 351 cricketers go into the auction hammer today. The auction will see 119 capped and 229 uncapped players with the remaining three players from the associate nations going into the auction. A total of 70 players can be bought at the auction with 20 slots available for the the foreign players.
The nine players in the Rs 2 crore bracket are Brendon McCullum, Chris Woakes, Lasith Malinga, Shaun Marsh, Sam Curran, Colin Ingram, Corey Anderson, Angelo Mathews and D’Arcy Short. Surprisingly no Indians feature in this list and only Jaydev Unadkat features in the next list of players with a base price of 1.5 crores.
Most of the teams are likely to chase experienced overseas players such as Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales, who have put themselves in the Rs 1.5 crore category. India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh, respectively.
Alongside the big names, a host of uncapped Indian players will be up for grabs with some of them expected to turn millionaires overnight.
Franchises like Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad are expected to be the silent spectators this auction as they have retained their core squad and only few spots are up for grabs. Teams like KXIP, Delhi Capitals have opted for a complete revamp of their squad and they are expected to make a lot of noise during the bidding war.
Keeping the hectic schedule in mind leading up to the World Cup in England from 30 May to 14 July, Australian stars like Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell have opted out of the auction. Though dates and venue are not yet announced, the IPL is expected to run from the last week of March to mid-May.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Yuvraj Singh
Once a sought-after property, Yuvraj Singh faces the risk of going unsold at the 2019 IPL auction. Yuvraj, who fetched a record Rs 16 crore deal in his prime, was bought by Kings XI Punjab for his base price of Rs 2 crore at the auction held before the last edition.
While Chris Gayle repaid the faith KXIP posed in him with a fruitful season, Yuvraj could not set the house on fire, managing just 65 runs in eight games. No wonder the team decided to release him. The 37-year-old, has put himself in the Rs 1 crore base price bracket this time alongside other capped Indians – Wriddhiman Saha, Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel.
Shimron Hetmyer
Shimron Hetmyer is a well known name in India who came to the prominence after a spectacular show against India when West Indies toured recently. With him being available for the entire series, franchises are expect to battle it out for him and all stakes are high as he may turn a millionaire today.
Brendon Mc Cullum
McCullum is another option available for the franchises as he will be part of the entire season, The seasoned pro is still in good form and franchises like Kolkata Knight Riders, which will be losing Chris Lynn for the second half of the season will be vying for the Kiwi legend.
| REMAINING SLOTS AND AMOUNT |
| Chennai Super KingsSalary cap available: Rs 8.40 cr
Available slots: Indian 2 Delhi Capitals Salary cap available: Rs 25.50 cr Available slots: 10 (Indian 7, Overseas 3) Kings XI Punjab Salary cap available: Rs 36.20 cr Available slots 15 (Indians 11, Overseas 4) Kolkata Knight Riders Salary cap available: Rs 15.20 cr Mumbai Indians Salary cap available: Rs 11.15 cr Rajasthan Royals Salary cap available: Rs 20.95 cr Royal Challengers Bangalore Salary cap available: Rs 18.15 cr Sunrisers Hyderabad Salary cap available: Rs 9.70 cr |