3 IPL teams that could get into a race to buy Shimron Hetmyer at the upcoming auctions

The 12th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) is in the news currently as franchises are trying to make the most of the first trade window, which ends tomorrow. The process was started by Royal Challengers Bangalore and the latest move has come from Chennai Super Kings, who released three of their players today evening.

All the eight teams are expected to retain most of their players in order to give the already-picked squad a chance to settle. Later on, they would aim to grab the best available options in the auctions, which are expected to take place in mid-December.

A lot of players have recently sent a strong message to IPL team owners with their flamboyant performances at multiple events. One such example is the Caribbean batsman Shimron Hetmyer, who has been in the limelight since that big ton against India in the first ODI.

Hetmyer kept impressing by scoring another fiery 94 in the second one, but he failed to finish the series well, scoring 37, 13 and 9 in the last three matches.

Hetmyer's stroke-play and ability to score big knocks might have already made him a player-to-buy for IPL franchises though. Here, we take a look at three teams who could be in a race to buy him:

#3 Rajasthan Royals

Indian Premier League Auction 2010

Rajasthan Royals had a decent outing in IPL 2018. They finished fourth in the points table, with seven wins from 14 games. They made the playoffs but lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator.

The Ajinkya Rahane-led side lacked foreign firepower in the batting, which ultimately cost them a chance to go beyond the playoffs. Hetmyer would be an ideal choice for them to fulfill that void in their batting.

He can help them in both forming and chasing big scores. His ability to up the run rate at will could come in very handy for the traditionally slow-scoring Royals.

#2 Kolkata Knight Riders

CLT20 Kolkata Knight Riders v Nashua Titans

The Kolkata Knight Riders also impressed last season under the leadership of their new skipper Dinesh Karthik. They lost the race only in the second qualifier, falling short by 14 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which prevented them from reaching the final.

KKR have a good looking batting line-up with the likes of Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell providing plenty of firepower. However, they occasionally struggled to maintain the scoring rate in the middle overs.

Inserting Shimron Hetmyer there could give them the depth that was missing in their batting last time around. With the Guyanese in the team, Karthik's men could well take the last step and lift the trophy in 2019.

#1 Sunrises Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad finished 2nd in IPL 2018

David Warner's exclusion had already been a big blow to the Sunrises Hyderabad last year, but releasing Shikhar Dhawan last month has added to their batting woes.

SRH have been a bowling-dominant side for a while, and they would surely want to try and improve their batting resources. Hetmyer could be the ideal player to rope in if they want to address the situation.

Considering their lack of foreign big hitters, SRH might be ready to pay a healthy amount to get Hetmyer at the upcoming auctions.