IPL 2020 auction: Preview, players in focus and more
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 auction is set to be held in Kolkata on Thursday. There are 73 slots on offer. A total of 332 players are set to undergo the hammer. Several international stars could draw substantial bids, whereas, youngsters will once again attract attention. Here's everything one can expect from the auction tomorrow.
With the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in 2020, the focus will be crucial for both players and teams alike. Performances in the IPL 13 will have added significance when national teams will analyze how the players fared in the tourney.
Afghanistan's Noor Ahmad will hope to join the likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and veteran Mohammad Nabi in the IPL. At 14 years and 350 days, Noor is the youngest player available in the auction pool. The left-arm chinaman has a base price of Rs. 30 lakh. He did well against India in the Under-19 one-day series recently.
Over the years in the IPL, several Indian youngsters gained attention. And this time too, one expects to see some uncapped players being the cynosure of all eyes. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, India U-19 WC captain Priyam Garg, Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore and Bengal pacer Ishan Porel can draw interest. They have a base price of Rs. 20 lakh.
Shimron Hetmyer was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after just one season. The southpaw has grown into the game of late, and his match-winning ton in the first ODI against India, was a testament to his stature. Besides him, the likes of Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope and Carlos Brathwaite are all in the mix.
Top Australian cricketers like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell, will aim for substantial bids. Last time, several World Cup-bound Aussie cricketers had opted out of the 2019 auction but now they have made themselves available. This is with the T20 World Cup to be held Down Under in October. Chris Lynn, who was released by KKR, could be significant.
Veteran cricketers Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan were released by KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. Robin Uthappa is another high-profile player who is available. The KKR batsman has set a base price of Rs. 1.5 crore. India's Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari are also in fray with a price tag of Rs. 50 lakh. Pacer Jaydev Unadkat is on offer as well.
A total of 186 Indian players, 143 overseas players and three players from Associate Nations are set to undergo the hammer. Here are the funds left with franchises: CSK: Rs. 14.60 crore, Delhi Capitals: Rs. 27.85 crore, KXIP: Rs. 42.70 crore, KKR: Rs. 35.65 crore, MI: Rs. 13.05 crore, RR: Rs. 28.90 crore, RCB: Rs. 27.90 crore, SRH: Rs. 17 crore.
The IPL 2020 auction is scheduled to start at 3:30 PM IST. The auction will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network. Hugh Edmeades will be the IPL auctioneer.
