IPL 2018: 5 players who could attract a massive bid

Every time there is a new season of IPL, it gets bigger and better than the previous year. We are still 5 months away from it, but there is no shortage of excitement and talk about the competition.

IPL is entering its second decade and the most exciting news so far is the return of CSK and Royals after a ban of 2 years. There is no confirmation yet on the no of players a franchise can retain but it is not going to be more than five. The auction will decide who is going to play where.

With every team required to play 7 Indian players, they demand a lot of money in the auction. All-rounders generally go for a lot of money. Left-arm spinners and death over specialist will attract a lot of attention in the auction.

Let's see 5 players who could attract a massive bid in IPL 2018. We have ignored the players who are most likely to be retained.

#5 Rahul Tripathi, India

Rahul Tripathi was sensational in IPL 2017 and will attract a massive bid

Rahul Tripathi has been one of the finds of 2017 IPL. He played some eye-catching knocks during the 2017 IPL season. He was on the list of top 10 run getters and played a major role in Rising Pune Supergiants run to the final in 2017.

Opening the batting in his debut season for Supergiants, he scored a massive 391 runs in IPL 2017 with a strike rate of 147. Rahul Tripathi is not a power hitter by any means but is a beautiful timer of the cricket ball. He has a vast array of strokes and relies on timing and uses the bowler's pace beautifully.

He was taken by Pune for just ?10 lakhs in the auction last year but expect intense bidding for him in the 2018 auction.

#4 Krunal Pandya, India

Krunal Pandya is one of the hot shot in IPL auction 2018

With 240 runs and 10 wickets, Krunal Pandya was one of the success stories for Mumbai Indians in the 2017 edition of Indian Premier League. He rescued Mumbai Indians from 79 for 7 in the final of 2017 against Rising Pune Supergiants and conjured a Man of the Match performance.

He is a tidy left-arm spinner and a hard hitter. His economy of 6.82 was the best for any Mumbai bowler during the last IPL campaign.

It looks like every team will be allowed to retain a maximum of 3 players for the 2018 IPL, and Mumbai will have no option but to let Krunal Pandya go. He will have no shortage of pursuors for his skill, and his all-round abilities will make him a big catch in the 2018 auction.

#3 Ben Stokes, England

He will be playing for a new team in 2018

There is absolutely nothing the man can't do on a cricket field. He can hit the ball really hard, he can bowl at pace, he can bowl yorkers and is a stunning fielder. He is one of the best all-rounders in the world right now. Stokes scored 316 runs and took 12 wickets in the 2017 edition of IPL.

With Rising Pune Supergiant out of IPL 2018, Ben Stokes will go into the auction this year. He was the costliest player in last year auction and don't expect anything different this time around.

Ben Stokes is an absolute asset regardless of the format. RCB will most likely not retain Shane Watson - so expect them to go big for Ben Stokes. CSK and Mumbai Indians will also be eager to bag him.

#2 Colin Munro, New Zealand

Munro inaction for Knight Riders

With his stunning hundred against India at Rajkot in the 2nd Twenty20 International (T20I), Colin Munro stamped his authority as one of the most fearsome hitters in T20 cricket.

Playing for the Trinbago Knight Riders in Caribbean Premier League 2017, Colin Munro scored 366 runs from 13 matches at a strike-rate of 135.05 to lead his team to the 2017 League title.

His ability to hit from the word go and his ability to play spinners will make him a valuable asset for any team. With New Zealand not scheduled to play any games in the majority of April and May next year, Colin Munro will be available to his franchise for most of the games.

His slow medium pace will be more than useful in some of the Indian pitches. Expect some crazy bidding for this Kiwi wonder.

#1 Evin Lewis, West Indies

Can he be the next Chris Gayle?

The dashing left-hander from Trinidad has been touted as the next big thing in West Indies cricket. He turned everyone's attention towards him when he brutally demolished India with a hundred in a T20I game last year.

He once again gave the knockout punch to India in a T20I game this July with a brutal 125* with 12 sixes.

Evin Lewis opens the batting with Chris Gayle in Twenty20 International (T20I) and on few occasions this season he completely outscored Gayle. He was only the third batsman to score 2 hundred in T20I's and has a T20 strike rate of more than 150. He can hit the ball as hard as anyone in world cricket and does it with consummate ease.

Every IPL team will look to have a player of his caliber in the squad. Expect a bidding war for this dynamite from Trinidad.