5 Overseas Players who could be the most sought after at the IPL Auction

IPL Auction is just a week away and there is already a lot of buzz around the team strategies. The teams have announced the players that they have released and the fans are already busy analyzing the needs of all the eight teams.

346 Players, domestic as well as overseas, have been shortlisted for the auction according to the preferences of the franchises and they will go under the hammer on 18th December in Jaipur.

There won’t be a familiar face in Richard Madley as the auctioneer of the event with Hugh Edmeades, a charity auctioneer, conducting the proceedings.

The auction this year will be very different from the previous editions, primarily due to two reasons. First and the foremost is that the IPL 2019 which will be held in April-May precedes the ICC World Cup scheduled to begin on 30th May. A lot of players will be leaving the tournament early while some of the big guns have opted out of the blockbuster tournament. Players from England and Australia will be playing matches before 1st May and will be leaving for national duty.

New Zealand, South Africa, and West Indies have allowed their players to play the whole duration of the tournament. Players like Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Mustafizur Rahman will not be participating in the IPL to be completely fit for the quadrennial event. So the teams at the auction table will be looking to target non-World Cup players as they will be available for the entire tourney.

The auction will be different and there is one more reason to it. 2019 is the year when the general elections take place and therefore it is highly speculated that the IPL will be shifted out of India like it was in 2009 as well as 2014 and therefore the team strategy will change.

As a lot of curiosity and excitement builds around the IPL Auction 2019 we take a look at the five players who could attract the highest bids from the franchises at the auction table.

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5. Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan)

Zazai can be a target for many teams as an opening batsman

At No. 5 on our list, is the very new sensation from Afghanistan, Hazratullah Zazai. A few seasons ago, there weren’t too many from the country but the meteoric rise of this nation in international cricket has resulted in many players getting an opportunity to ply their trade in the IPL.

Zazai first came into the limelight, a couple of months ago, when he hit six sixes in an over in the Afghan Premier League. He was in good form in the tournament held in UAE with 322 runs to his name in 10 matches.

Overall in the 20 matches, he has played in the shortest format of the game, he has scored 712 runs at a strike rate nearing 160.

On his debut tour of Ireland in August, Zazai helped Afghanistan win the three-match series 2-0 on the back of his back-to-back half centuries. With a lot of hard-hitting openers from England and Australia not available for the entire duration of the tournament, Hazratullah Zazai may attract a lot of bids at the auction table.

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4. Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)

Trinbago Knight Riders v Barbados Tridents - 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League

Next on our list is Carribean wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran. It is likely that the West Indian will attract a lot of bids from the franchises.

The left-hander was a part of the Mumbai Indians squad in the 2017 edition but didn’t get a chance to play. However, the player had gone unsold in the 2018 auction but the 23-year-old has improved a lot in the past 12 months and the development was evident in the recently concluded T10 League and the Carribean Premier League (CPL).

In the CPL 2018, Pooran scored 267 runs in 10 matches while playing for the Barbados Tridents. He continued his good run of form in the T10 League as well where he was the leading run scorer of the tournament with 324 runs to his name in nine matches.

With over 50 dismissals credited to his name as a wicketkeeper, he could be a great buy for the teams who are in need of a wicketkeeper.

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3. Reeza Hendricks

Reeza Hendricks is in red-hot form in the MSL

Reeza Hendricks' name in this list may not come as a surprise to the people who have been following South African Cricket and especially the Mzansi Super League (MSL).

He has been in red-hot form in the tournament with 379 runs in eight matches including back to back centuries at one stage of the tournament. He is a hard-hitting batsman and his versatility to bat at the top of the order as well as in the middle order makes all the more special.

He made his ODI debut earlier this year and scored a hundred in 88 balls, the fastest on debut by any batsman, as he won the Man of the match against Sri Lanka. With the South African Players being allowed to play the entire IPL, Hendricks will attract bids from a lot of teams.

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2. Sam Curran

Sam Curran could be a sought-after player considering his abilities as an all-rounder

At No. 2 on our list, is England’s all-rounder Sam Curran. He grabbed the headlines during India's tour of England in August this year as he became a nightmare for the Indian bowlers. Coming in at No. 8, he plundered runs along with the tail as the all-rounder was adjudged the man of the series in the 5 match test series. Following his success in that series, Curran was tipped to grab headlines at the Auction.

Overall in T20s, he has 42 wickets to his name in 46 matches with an economy rate of 8.24, numbers don’t justify the rare ability that Curran possesses as he can be a pinch hitter in the death overs and also be a new ball bowler for his team.

Though the left-hander has set his base price in the highest category at 2 crores it is likely that Curran will attract high bids as he may be available for the entire tournament as he is not a part of England's ODI plans and will probably not be a part of the World Cup.

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1. Shimron Hetmyer

Guyana Amazon Warriors v Jamaica Tallawahs - 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Tournament

The Numero Uno spot goes to West Indian batsman Shimron Hetmyer. Hetmyer grabbed a lot of eyeballs with his performances in the ODI series in India in October.

He will attract a lot of bids from various teams with his hard-hitting ability as a middle order batsman. The Guyana batsman will continue the trend of the Carribean players making it big in the IPL.

In the Carribean Premier League (CPL), he amassed with 440 runs in 12 matches while plying his trade for the Guyana Amazon Warriors ending the tournament as the third highest run-getter.

Hetmyer has set his base price at 50 Lakhs and will attract a lot of bids. Considering that the West Indies players will be available for the full tournament, Hetmyer will be at the top of the list for many teams.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest IPL 2019 Auction news, updates, probable playing XI, fantasy tips and stats.