Stokes, Morgan lead the pack ahead of big day
MUMBAI: Even though there are no big Indian cricketers in the fray, it is always exciting to see the rich and famous gamble their money on cricketers. The stage is set for the 2017 IPL auction where 356 names will go under the hammer in Bengaluru on Monday.
Given that the core of the teams is set, the eight IPL outfits will only be looking to bolster specific areas in their armoury.
All eyes will be on the ~2 crore bracket which has seven players --- Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Angelo Mathews, Patrick Cummins, Mitchell Johnson, Ishant Sharma and Chris Woakes. There are 15 players in the reserve price of ~1-1.5 crore. It is understood that allrounders, fast bowlers from abroad and legspinners will be in demand, which makes the likes of Stokes, Mathews, Kagiso
Rabada, Imran Tahir and Mitchell Santner hot property. While Stokes and Mathews are in the highest base price bracket, Rabada is in the ~1 crore slot and Tahir and Santner have preferred the ~50 lakh bracket. Following his fine bowling performance in the final stages of the Big Bash, Mitchell Johnson is back in contention after being released by Kings XI . Eoin Morgan, who was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad, too could fetch a good price. Tahir currently leads the limited-overs rankings. He could be hot property on Monday given that his five-wicket haul in South Africa’s T20I against New Zealand a couple of days back is fresh in the memory.
Santner, the left-arm spinner from New Zealand, did well against India in the World T20 opener at Nagpur, and it could work for him. England players too should be in demand. They performed well in the recent limited-overs series. Stokes was consistent throughout the tour in all formats, while Morgan, pacer Tymal Mills and batsman Jason Roy also impressed. A member of an IPL team’s think-tank predicted a conservative approach, at least for the budget-conscious teams. “We have the big auction next year, this time we will only buy a player where necessary,” he said.