351 players go under hammer today
Bengaluru: Feb 6, 2016, DHNS
A whopping Rs 160 crore is likely to be spent to hire a maximum of 116 players (out of 351 on the auction list), including 39 foreign cricketers, during the ninth IPL Player Auction to be held here on Saturday.
With most of the teams exercising their retention right to keep the big-ticket players with them, it remains to be seen which of the marquee players force the franchise owners break the bank.
Yuvraj Singh had attracted a cool Rs 14 crore from Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2014 auction. If one thought that that figure was mind-numbing, Delhi Daredevils splurged an insane amount of Rs 16 crore to buy the southpaw in the last auction.
The Punjab batsman didn’t exactly set the scene on fire in either edition and was subsequently off-loaded by both franchises.
It’s unlikely the left-handed all-rounder will attract the same attention but there can be some big bids by new franchises — Rising Pune Super Giants and Gujarat Lions — and Daredevils who have more money to splurge on than any other franchise.
Aussie all-rounder Shane Watson, New Zealand’s opener Martin Guptill and England’s wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler will be pursued hotly as they are multi-utility players.
South African paceman Dale Steyn, troubled by frequent injuries and his decreasing prowess in the shorter version, has been off-loaded by Sunrisers Hyderabad and it remains to be seen how the teams react when he comes for auction in marquee players category.
Resurgent Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan is likely to generate interest as would West Indies’ opening batsman Dwayne Smith. Both of them were with now-suspended Chennai Super Kings.
Mumbai have retained a maximum of 19 players and as such they have just seven spots to fill while Pune and Rajkot franchises will have to pick a minimum of 11 players to form their squads.
With most of the teams exercising their retention right to keep the big-ticket players with them, it remains to be seen which of the marquee players force the franchise owners break the bank.
Yuvraj Singh had attracted a cool Rs 14 crore from Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2014 auction. If one thought that that figure was mind-numbing, Delhi Daredevils splurged an insane amount of Rs 16 crore to buy the southpaw in the last auction.
The Punjab batsman didn’t exactly set the scene on fire in either edition and was subsequently off-loaded by both franchises.
It’s unlikely the left-handed all-rounder will attract the same attention but there can be some big bids by new franchises — Rising Pune Super Giants and Gujarat Lions — and Daredevils who have more money to splurge on than any other franchise.
Aussie all-rounder Shane Watson, New Zealand’s opener Martin Guptill and England’s wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler will be pursued hotly as they are multi-utility players.
South African paceman Dale Steyn, troubled by frequent injuries and his decreasing prowess in the shorter version, has been off-loaded by Sunrisers Hyderabad and it remains to be seen how the teams react when he comes for auction in marquee players category.
Resurgent Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan is likely to generate interest as would West Indies’ opening batsman Dwayne Smith. Both of them were with now-suspended Chennai Super Kings.
Mumbai have retained a maximum of 19 players and as such they have just seven spots to fill while Pune and Rajkot franchises will have to pick a minimum of 11 players to form their squads.
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