Who should buy Mohammad Shahzad in IPL 2019 Auction: Sportsrush presents before you three teams who could buy Shahzad in the auction.

Given the form that Afghanistan opening batsman and wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad is in, it is all but certain that he would receive his maiden IPL call-up in the IPL auction to be held in the third week of December this year.

Shahzad was part of the IPL auction which happened at the start of this year but, surprisingly, failed to attract any buyer. In what now appears to be a one-off disappointment, one feels that the 30-year old cricketer will become the third Afghani cricketer (after Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi) to feature in the IPL.

Shahzad accumulated plentiful of news after scoring a 12-ball half-century for Rajputs against Sindhis in the opening encounter of the second season of the T10 League at Sharjah. In which was a 95-run chase, Shahzad’s blitz saw his team chasing it in four over. He ended up scoring 74* (16) with the help of six fours and eight sixes.

In the last ODI which Shahzad played, he scored his fifth ODI century, scoring 124 (116) with the help of 11 fours and seven sixes. The fact that the blistering innings was played against India in itself is enough to gain him brownie points during the IPL auction.

Furthermore, a T20I strike rate of 134.81 and a T20 strike rate of 131.80 will aid Shahzad take part in the cash-rich tournament.

Who should buy Mohammed Shahzad in IPL 2019 Auction?

1) Royal Challengers Bangalore – One of the three IPL franchises to have played every season of the IPL so far without winning a single title, RCB have retained only a couple of specialist batsmen in Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

At this point in time, they only have a lone wicket-keeper in Parthiv Patel, who is also an opening batsman. Apart from donning the wicket-keeping gloves, Shahzad can provide RCB the much-needed spark at the top of the order.

With Kohli and de Villiers present to provide stability, one expects Bangalore to invest in hard-hitting and impact-generating players such as Shahzad to bolster their batting order.

2) Sunrisers Hyderabad – Out of their 17 retained players, Sunrisers have a total of three opening batsmen in David Warner, Kane Williamson and Sreevats Goswami. If Warner plays the IPL and is then selected in Australia’s squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, don’t expect him to be a part of more than half the tournament.

In such a scenario, having someone of the rank of Shahzad in their line-up will not let them feel the void created by Warner. Much like RCB, SRH will also be looking forward to buying another wicket-keeper in the auction. Laying their eyes on Shahzad will seal the deal right for them.

Additionally, if they buy Shahzad, they will have Afghanistan’s bowler-wicket-keeper combo, something which can further work in their favor.

3) Kolkata Knight Riders – Apart from specialist opening batsman in Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill, the Knight Riders also a reliable makeshift opener in Sunil Narine. Despite that, someone of Shahzad’s potential might come in handy for them.

Kolkata would be looking to continue with their opening combination of Narine and Lynn. Much like Warner, even Lynn faces the prospect of returning back to Australia because of the World Cup.

If that happens, Shahzad can be an apt replacement at the top of the order. Moroever, Shahzad’s presence will take the load of wicket-keeping from their captain Dinesh Karthik.

Read some of the latest Twitter reactions on Shahzad below: