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The Indian Premier League (IPL) is preparing to enter its fifteenth edition, and there is a lot of excitement among supporters. With 10 franchises slated to compete this year, the marquee tournament is envisioned to be a bigger affair than ever.
The IPL 2022 Mega Auction, which is to be held on February 12 and 13, looms large, with a total of 1,214 players registered to go under the hammer. The list features 896 Indian and 318 overseas players.
With the addition of two brand new teams, there will be an intense battle among the ten sides at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
One particular type of commodity who will definitely muster high demand at the auction will be the spinners. The fact that seven out of the top ten highest-ranked T20I bowlers are spinners goes on to show the significance of their role in the shortest format of the game.
Several overseas spinners will hoard the attention at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction
With so many spinners stamping their authority on the international circuit, we will profile three such names who are likely to be hot-picks at IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
#3. Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa)
Tabraiz Shamsi is a skilled and crafty spinner who also tends to add a mysterious element to the game. It's not just his variations that are impressive, but also the accuracy he brings. Shamsi becomes even more threatening when a batter tries to go after him.
With his consistent performances for the Proteas, the left-arm chinaman has been one of the top three T20I bowlers for quite some time now. He is currently ranked 2nd in the ICC Player Rankings.
While Shamsi might have contested at the IPL on only a handful of occasions, he has played T20 cricket around the globe and has impressive numbers in his kitty. In all 167 T20 innings he has bowled in, the 31-year old has taken 195 wickets to his name with a world-class economy of 7.15. With a wicket in every 18 balls, the Johannesburg-born spinner possesses a danger-alert for the opposition batters.
Left-arm leg-spin is an extremely rare art, and there's no doubt that Shamsi is a virtuoso. Given his credentials and wealth of experience in T20 cricket, the South African spinner could be perfect for adding a different dimension to any IPL franchise.
#2. Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)
Current world No.1 T20I bowler Wanindu Hasaranga has seen a meteoric rise in world cricket. He was drafted straight from Sri Lanka's U-19s into the national side.
Hasaranga's quick-arm action, combined with a crisp googly, can put any batter facing the leg-spinner in trouble. Much like Rashid Khan, the 24-year old knows how to deceive the batters with a flat trajectory. He denies them the opportunity to generate a run-scoring shot.
Factoring in his hat-trick against South Africa, Hasaranga was the highest wicket-taker in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Post that tournament, he won the Player of the Series award in the Abu Dhabi T10 League 2021.
In 2021, the Galle-born leggie played 22 T20 matches, scalping as many as 39 wickets with an immaculate economy of under 5.5. The Sri Lankan ace tweaker made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last year. He played just a couple of games for them. However, he could not cement his place and was released ahead of IPL Mega Auction 2022.
It is worth emphasizing that Hasaranga is equally capable of tonking the ball off the ground, and also can be looked at as a proper all-rounder. With his success in various T20 leagues and all-round skills, Hasaranga could emerge as one of the top picks at the upcoming auction.
#1. Adam Zampa (Australia)
With the old-school technique of tossing the ball up, Adam Zampa has now become one of the most threatening leg-spinners around the globe.
Following Australia's historic victory in the T20 World Cup 2021, captain Aaron Finch lauded the 29-year-old. Finch said that Zampa deserved to be named Player of the Tournament.
Even before the World Cup, Zampa was taking crucial wickets for Australia, but the former RCB leggie took his game to greater heights during the tournament. The 29-year-old finished the competition with 13 scalps in seven matches at an average of 12.08 and an exceptional economy of six.
Zampa's ability to keep things simple is an illustration of his thought-process. The NSW-born spinner is dangerous because of his mastery of his craft. He also has a penchant for picking wickets in crucial stages of the game.
Zampa is presently the world's third best T20I bowler as per the ICC Rankings. With leg-spinners now a "must have" for every T20 side, it is certain that many IPL teams will look to land Zampa. Following his growth in stature, he is expected to fetch impressive bids at the upcoming mega auction.
Honorable mentions:
Adil Rashid (England)
Mujeeb Ur Rehman (Afghanistan)
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