IPL Auction 2017: Ben Stokes is one player who has already got the cricketing fraternity buzzing ever since he put his name in the auction list (Source: PTI)
The IPL auction is just a day away and the excitement among the fans is palpable. While franchises will be working out on their last minute strategies, it will be interesting to see what those featuring for the first time will bring to the auction table. It has been seen before that players featuring in the auctions for the first time tend to add a lot of spice in the mix and this time there are some big names who could fetch some really big money. We now take a look at some of those names
Star all-rounder from England, Ben Stokes is one player who has already got the cricketing fraternity buzzing ever since he put his name in the auction list. His value to the game is immense and statistics speak for itself.
In T20’s he boasts of a strike rate of 136.17 with the bat. Skipper Virat Kohli too has openly praised him. With the ball he has taken 32 T20 wickets at 36.40, and has a career economy rate of 8.60. his base price is 2 crore. Virat Kohli’s open praise about Stokes will only further boost his value in the auctions.
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Fellow England pacer Tymal Mills is another exciting prospect who could rake in a lot of money. Mills’ economy rate of 7.28 towards the end of the innings is the second-best behind Mustafizur Rahman. His career economy rate is 7.47 and his strike rate is 17.7 With a base price of Rs 50 lakh it will be interesting to see how far his price goes up. Teams like Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils, and Kings XI Punjab will keep an eye out for him.
Among pacers, Kagiso Rabada, from South Africa is another player who has proved himself at the T20 circuit. He has a career T20 economy rate of 7.49 and is a potential match winner. In the slog overs, he has an economy rate of 8.94. In Powerplays, he concedes 7.31 runs per over, and has taken 16 wickets at an average of 28.81 in overs 1-6. With a base price of Rs 1 crore, his asking price will surely go up as the auction progresses.
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Other players featuring in the auctions for the first time who could rake in a good amount of money are wicketkeeper-batsman from West Indies, Nicholas Pooran. With a career strike rate of 143.29, Pooran scored over 67% of his runs in boundaries in 2016. He has a base price Rs 30 lakh
Jason Roy is another Englishman who has proved himself on Indian pitches. He has a career T20 strike rate of 143.88 and an average of 28.29, with four centuries. He is good against both spin and pace. He did have some problems with spin earlier but now has a powerplay strike rate against spin of 116.
His base price is Rs 1 crore and teams like Mumbai Indians who could look for a back up opener may go in for him.
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Among the Associates, one player who has proved himself on the international level and will be attracting some attention from the franchises is Mohammad Nabi. He is currently ranked 7th in ICC rankings for all-rounders in ODI cricket. He is one of ten players in the last two years who has scored more than 600 T20 runs and take over 60 wickets. Out Of the ten T20 bowlers who have sent down the most deliveries in the last two years, Nabi has the third best economy rate behind Sunil Narine and Shahid Afridi. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the 2016 World T20. For teams such who are looking for some all round talent and experience Nabi would fit the bill perfectly
Meanwhile, Dawlat Zadran is another player who might very well spark a bidding war, courtesy his all-round skills. As a batsman he is pretty explosive and has a strike rate of 161.54. In the bowling too he has a good economy rate of 7.66 and an average of 21.
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