IPL Mini Auction 2021: 3 overseas players who should be bought in IPL 2021 Auction

3 overseas players who should be bought in IPL 2021 Auction: Indian Premier League 2021 auction will be held in Chennai today.

There have been enough instances of overseas players bagging life-changing bids in Indian Premier League auctions in the past. Despite today’s IPL 2021 auction being a mini-auction, one wouldn’t be surprised to see an overseas player or two getting bought for a sumptuous amount.

It is worth mentioning that a maximum of 61 out of the 292 shortlisted players will be able to find buyers in Chennai. Out of the 61 available slots, 22 belong to overseas players which will see some high profile names such as Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Shakib Al Hasan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aaron Finch among many others who will be up for sale.

Having said that, this piece isn’t around overseas players who have had celebrated IPL careers or are highly likely to find a buyer today. With a total of 92 overseas players, below are three names who deserve to play IPL 2021 on the back of consistent performances for their respective teams in the recent times.

3 overseas players who should be bought in IPL 2021 Auction

Alex Hales

England batsman Alex Hales might not have played for his national team for almost two years now but he has utilized the same time to amass runs for T20 franchises around the world. Coming on the back of being the highest run-scorer in Big Bash League, Hales had scored 543 runs in 15 matches at an average and strike rate of 38.78 and 161.60 respectively for Sydney Thunder.

To cut a long story short, since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Hales’ 2,368 T20 runs have come at an average and strike rate of 32.44 and 147.72 respectively. Hales, who has batted in 80 innings in this time period, has also smashed one century and 17 half-centuries for teams such as Nottingham Outlaws, Barbados Tridents, Durban Heat, Thunder, and Karachi Kings.

The fact that this period has seen Hales score in England, West Indies, South Africa, Australia and Pakistan speaks highly about his form in this format in the last 20 months or so.

Despite being part of Mumbai Indians’ title-winning campaign in 2015, Hales had to wait for three more years to make his IPL debut for SunRisers Hyderabad in 2018. Having played just six matches, it is a bit astonishing that someone of Hales’ skills has had such a brief IPL career.

Daniel Christian

If Hales’ last international appearance had come in 2019, veteran Australia all-rounder Daniel Christian’s last T20I for Australia dates back to 2017. However, much like Nottinghamshire-teammate Hales, Christian has also left no stone unturned to prove his mettle as a reliable T20 all-rounder.

Part of Sydney Sixers’ title-winning campaign in BBL 10, Christian had scored 272 runs in 14 innings at an average and strike rate of 34 and 182.55 respectively.

ALSO READ: Daniel Christian slams 15-ball half-century vs Adelaide Strikers

Christian, 37, bats in the lower order and knows a thing or two about not just finishing innings but finishing T20 tournaments successfully. It can’t be a sheer co-incidence that Christian has been part of nine T20 title-winning campaigns. In addition to four BBL titles, Christian has also won three T20 Blast (two as captain of Outlaws), one Caribbean Premier League and one Mzansi Super League title.

In 70 T20s since the start of MSL 2018, Christian has won three T20 leagues scoring 1,367 runs at a batting strike rate of 145.12 and dismissing 69 batsmen at a bowling strike rate of 19.32. If these numbers and this experience don’t excite an IPL franchise, what else will?

Jhye Richardson

Australia fast bowler Jhye Richardson doesn’t have the eye-catching numbers of either Hales or Christian but the 24-year old player has enough potential to leave an impression in not just the upcoming Indian Premier League season but the following seasons as well.

In 17 BBL matches for Perth Scorchers this season, Richardson had picked 29 wickets at an average of 16.31, an economy rate of 7.69 and a strike rate of 12.7 to be the highest wicket-taker. In 53 BBL matches across five seasons, Richardson has been consistent enough to dismiss 69 batsmen at an average of 21.68, an economy rate of 7.77 and a strike rate of 16.74.

Having the ability of both bowling with the new ball and in the death overs, Richardson should be able to attract a maiden IPL bid.