The 2017 VIVO IPL auction that was supposed to take place in Bangalore on February 4 has been postponed to 20th of February due to the Supreme Court’s decision to remove Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke from their roles, and imposing various regulations on the other office bearers. With the auction a couple of weeks away, the franchisees would have figured out who their team needs ahead of the 2017 IPL.
All the eight teams have retained a combined total of 140 cricketers including 44 overseas players for the 2017 season. The 2017 IPL auction is set to feature over 750 players and out of those 750, a maximum of 76 cricketers can be picked by the teams. Each team can have a maximum of 27 players out of which 9 can be overseas professionals.
Extra Cover: IPL Auction 2017- Date, time, player list, rules and format
The franchisees have been allotted a purse of 66 crores INR for the auction. This purse includes the money spent by them in retaining the players and the remaining money can be used by the franchise in the auction. This year’s auction is set to feature a few big names and the franchise will have to outbid each other to land the player they want.
Let us take a look at the players who could be the most sought after players in the 2017 auction.
#5 Jason Roy
Jason Roy has been one of England’s best limited-over players at the moment and is likely to fetch a huge amount at the IPL auction. Roy has been phenomenal for the English in the last one year and transformed their ODI and T20I side. In the recently concluded ODI and T20I series against India, Roy gave his team a flying start in all the three ODIs and scored at least 50 runs in each of those matches. Even in the T20I series, he tried to do the same but lost his wicket against the run of play.
The Surrey batsman is one of the very few players with at least 1000 ODI runs to have an average of over 40 and strike-rate of over 100. His T20 numbers also look impressive, scoring 3412 runs in 134 innings at an average of 28 and a strike-rate of over 144.
Roy is a fearless opener and a perfect team player and always look to give his team a great start and doesn’t worry about losing his wicket in doing so. In spite of most of the teams having some good opening batsmen, the England opener is likely to fetch a big amount in the 2017 IPL auction. Mumbai Indians will look to buy the right-hander as they do not have an 'explosive' batsman to open the innings with skipper Rohit Sharma.
#4 Imran Tahir
It is quite surprising that Imran Tahir was released by Delhi Daredevils ahead of the 2017 IPL auction. The South African was instrumental in Delhi’s victories in the last two seasons but the franchise felt that he had a poor 2016 IPL and that they are wasting an overseas player quota if the leggie features in the playing XI.
He will turn 38 by the time the IPL starts, yet, teams will look to pounce on the Pakistan-born spinner. He is the number 1 bowler in this format and is a proven match winner for South Africa and all the other teams he represented in the past. He has a T20I economy of 6.39 and takes a wicket every 15 balls. In the T20s, his economy is equally good and his average with the ball is 21.45; numbers that are not bad for a spinner in this format.
There are only a handful of spinners available in the auction and this will give an advantage to Tahir as there are a few teams that need a quality spinner in their line-up. If things go well, defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to acquire the South African bowler in the upcoming auction as they don’t have a frontline spinner who can control the run flow and pick up wickets in the middle overs.
#3 Corey Anderson
Corey Anderson is a familiar name in the IPL as he has won matches single-handedly for his side Mumbai Indians. Ahead of the 2017 edition, the Kiwi all-rounder was released by the franchise and is likely to fetch a big amount in the auction.
Anderson caught the attention of the cricket fans when he scored a 36-ball century in an ODI against West Indies and broke Shahid Afridi’s record for the fastest ODI century. Since then, the southpaw has become an integral part of New Zealand’s limited-overs team and Mumbai Indians. Things were going well for the former Mumbai Indians man till he got injured during last year’s IPL.
Extra Cover: IPL auction 2017- One player who can complete each IPL side
Since recovering from the injury, he has hardly played for New Zealand as he went down the pecking order and was eventually released by his IPL side. In spite of the barren patch, he is still one of the most dangerous T20 players around the world and teams will look to grab him as he is capable of delivering with both bat and ball.
#2 Irfan Pathan
A decade ago, he was hailed as Kapil Dev’s heir, as an all-rounder who can contribute with both the bat and ball when he was at the peak of his career. Things quickly changed as he got injured, lost his swing and lost his place in the Indian team.
He made a comeback a couple of seasons back, and now, he looks fitter and raring to go. He was bought by the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the 2014 IPL auction and didn’t even get to feature in a single match that season. Following the suspension of CSK, he was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants, for whom he played for only 4 matches and was released ahead of the 2017 auction.
He still has something left in the tank and will be a valuable addition to any side in this format. An Indian all-rounder is always a blessing in disguise for an IPL team and franchises will look to sign him up when he comes up for the grabs, unlike the last auction where he was unsold in the regular auction and was snapped up by RPSG in the auction for the unsold players.
#1 Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes goes into the 2017 IPL auction as the favourite to get the highest bid. The England all-rounder has been phenomenal for the English in the last couple of years and will look to carry on his good form to the IPL too.
Just like Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Stokes is aggressive and likes to give 100% whenever he takes the field. He can contribute to the team’s cause in every possible way. He has the ability to take the game away from the opposition in a matter of a few balls and with the ball, he gives his captain four good overs apart from picking some crucial wickets. He is also a safe bet in the field, something that is very handy in this format.
There were rumours that Virat Kohli has already instructed the RCB team management to get him at any cost. He is likely to start a bidding war in the IPL auction and is the favourite to fetch the highest price in the 2017 auction.
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