IPL 2022 Auction: 3 overrated players in the marquee set

The Indian Premier League (IPL) on February 1 (Tuesday) revealed the final list of players who will go under the hammer on February 12 and 13 in the IPL 2022 mega auction.

The final list has been pruned to 590 players from the original list of 1214 players, including 370 Indians and 220 overseas cricketers. This final list has 48 players in the top INR 2 crore reserve price bracket. There are 20 players with a base price of INR 1.5 and while 34 players have commanded a base price of INR 1 crore.

10 players have been included in the marquee list with a base price of INR 2 crore. The list boasts Ravichandran Ashwin, Pat Cummins, Quinton de Kock, Trent Boult, Shikhar Dhawan, Faf du Plessis, Shreyas Iyer, Kagiso Rabada, David Warner, Mohammed Shami.

While they are expected to add value to whichever franchise they join, there are a couple of misfits on the list. On that note, let's take a look at 3 overrated players in the marquee set.

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#3 Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami was part of Punjab Kings in IPL 2021 (Credit: BCCI/IPL)

While Mohammed Shami has been a sensation in Test cricket and One Day Internationals, his T20 statistics have been up to his standards.

A senior statesman, the 31-year-old fast bowler from Bengal has often led his team down with his erratic bowling display. With an economy of 8.62 runs per over in the IPL, Shami has been far from his best.

He has been part of Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils (now known as Delhi Capitals) and most recently Punjab Kings but has not lived up to his potential.

Thus, the Punjab management decided to retain young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh ahead of experienced Mohammed Shami. The right-arm pacer has 79 scalps under his belt from the same number of games in the history of IPL.

Shami, who will enter the IPL 2022 mega auction as a marquee player, looks a bit overrated, considering he is not a regular member of the Indian team, having played only 17 matches since his debut in 2014.

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#2 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin was part of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 (Credit: IPL/BCCI)

Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is among the 10 cricketers picked as marquee players for the IPL 2022 auction.

While he has returned to India's limited-overs side in the last couple of months and featured in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Ashwin's performance has not been praiseworthy.

He also had below-par returns in the IPL 2021, plying his trade for Delhi Capitals. Playing 13 matches, the 35-year-old cricketer managed to pick up only seven wickets in an economy of 7.41 runs per over.

Although he has been touted as the best off-spinner in the red-ball format, his stocks have gone down in the shortest format and thus it looks like he is a bit of a misfit in the marquee category of IPL 2022 mega auction.

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#1 Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada was part of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 (Credit: IPL/BCCI)

The fast bowler from South Africa was touted to take fast bowling legacy forward among the current generation of bowlers.

While he bursts onto the scene like an uncut diamond, his skills have taken a jolt in the last couple of years due to several injuries. He has also not looked at his usual best, apart from a few praiseworthy performances here and there.

Kagiso Rabada managed to scalp only 15 wickets from as many matches in an economy of 8.14 runs per over. So much so that Delhi Capitals retained Rabada's teammate Anrich Nortje ahead of the former for IPL 2022.

With the performance graph going down, the 26-year-old fast bowler looks a bit overrated in the marquee category for IPL 2022 mega auction.