The IPL Auction 2017 was recently postponed to the 20th of February following a Supreme Court ruling. However, this does not take away from the excitement of the whirlwind action of the IPL Auction which is seen every year. The Sportsrush takes a look at the 5 potential biggest buys in the IPL auction 2017!
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Overall, eight teams have retained a total of 140 cricketers. Among them, 44 overseas players are available for the IPL auction 2017. Moreover, a total of 76 cricketers can be picked up from a giant pool of 750 players. As per IPL guidelines, each team can have a total of 27 players. Among them, 9 can be overseas players.
1. Jason Roy
One of the most consistent England players, Jason Roy has made a strong impact in limited over internationals. In the recently concluded T20 and ODI series against India, Jason Roy scored a half century in all of the matches. Even in the T20I series, he contributed significantly only to lose his wicket at the wrong time.
The England opener is also one of the few players with at least 1000 ODI runs having an average of over 40 and strike rate of over 100. He has also scored 3412 runs in 134 innings at an average of 28 and strike-rate of 144. The fearless opener is expected to attract huge bids with Mumbai Indians likely to bid heavily for him.
2. Corey Anderson
A surprising exclusion from the Mumbai Indians unit this year, Corey Anderson is expected to draw huge attention. The New Zealand all rounder set the cricketing world on fire with a 36 ball hundred in an ODI against West Indies. He went on to break Shahid Afridi’s record for the fastest ODI century.
He was a key player for Mumbai Indians until he met with an injury last season.Consequently, he lost his flair and went down the pecking order of both Mumbai Indians and New Zealand. However, he is still considered as one of the most dangerous T20 players in the world.
3. Imran Tahir
Imran Tahir, the current number 1 bowler in the world T20 rankings, was another surprising exclusion from an IPL squad. He was removed by Delhi Daredevils though he was instrumental in lot of Delhi’s victories over the last two seasons. One factor which might have gone against him is his age. Tahir turns 38 by the time IPL starts.
He has also been a proven match winner for South Africa. He has an awesome T20I economy of 6.39 with a strike rate of 15. Also, if you couple with this an average of 21.45, it reflects positively on his credentials as a spinner. Expect defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad to bid heavily for him as they lack a frontline spinner!
4. Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan is one of the few cricketers to have seen both the extremes in his career. After a spellbounding start, he saw a staggering decline which he has not been able to stem even now. After getting fitter, he was picked up by the now defunct Chennai Super Kings but did not play a single game.
Thereafter, he was picked up by Rising Pune Supergiants. He featured in 4 games in the last season and was released following a lacklustre performance. Nevertheless, considering his all-round abilities and the balance he brings to a team, franchises will look to sign him up.
5. Ben Stokes
One of the best all-rounders in the world today, Ben Stokes will be hot property for all the franchises in the IPL auction 2017. He has been priceless for the England side over the past two years and will look to carry his from to his IPL unit. He is a batting all-rounder who can hit some lusty blows and bowl 4 handy overs.
Moreover, he is also a safe fielder and therefore, a dream for any captain. It is being rumored that Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore will be bidding for him strongly. He is definitely set to start a bidding war among majority of the IPL franchises who are looking to inject a X-factor in their squads.
