IPL 2018: 5 potential players who can be sold upwards of Rs. 20 crore

The excitement for the IPL auction has been building up ever since the participating teams released the retention list on January 4th, 2018. A total of 18 players were retained by the eight teams participating in the 2018 edition. The IPL auction is scheduled to be held on 27th and 28th January in Bengaluru.

Get the IPL Live Score

With the IPL purse increased to Rs. 80 crore up from previous year's amount of Rs. 66 crore, the players are waiting for a big payday at the end of this month. Year on year, the cash-rich league has seen very intense auctions with bidding wars for some of the most impactful cricketers. The franchise owners sitting at the auction don't think twice to go all-out for a particular player and every other season has thrown surprises with some players being sold for as high as Rs. 15 crore.

Yuvraj Singh became the first player to cross Rs. 15 crore mark when he was bought by Delhi Daredevils in the 2015 edition. In the 2017 edition, Ben Stokes took home Rs. 14.5 crore and became the second most expensive player in the league.

Currently, Virat Kohli is the most expensive player in the league after RCB retained him for Rs. 17 crore. This year will be no different as the auction is bound to throw surprises again and possibly the most expensive player can cross the Rs. 20 crore mark owing to an increased purse from the previous edition.

Here are some players who are capable of crossing the Rs. 20 crore mark at the auction this year.

#5 Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indian all-rounder is one of the most impactful players in the shortest format of the game. CSK preferring Ravindra Jadeja over Dwayne Bravo for retention was a decision that left everyone surprised.

In the ongoing Big Bash League, playing for Melbourne Renegades, he has taken 12 wickets in just 5 matches and is placed second on the list of highest wicket-takers right behind Andrew Tye who is two wickets ahead.

Bravo has been delivering consistently with the ball in T20s, fetching regular breakthroughs even in the pressure situations. Recently he became the first bowler to take 400 wickets in T20s. Lasith Malinga who has taken 331 wickets has the second most numbers of wickets and is 76 wickets behind Bravo.

In the IPL he has taken 122 wickets in 106 matches and is placed 5th on the list of all-time highest wicket-takers. He is the only player along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar to win two Purple caps, having won it in 2013 and 2015, both times playing for CSK.

He is one of the best death overs' bowler in T20s at present, making him a player who can leave the franchises in a bidding war.

#4 Colin Munro

Colin Munro

Colin Munro, the hard-hitting New Zealand batsman has been making headlines lately for his match-winning performances in T20s. He is currently the No.1 ranked T20I batsman in the world. In the recently concluded series against West Indies the New Zealander broke a number of records.

He scored 223 runs in the series, the most scored by an individual in a three-match T20 international bi-lateral series. Munro scored two fifties in the first two matches and followed up with a century in the third. He became the first batsman to hit three T20 international centuries and it is enough to define his capabilities.

Munro who played for KKR in the 2016 edition of the IPL, did not get enough chances to prove himself and was later released from the team before the 2017 edition. Surprisingly he went unsold at the auction last season.

Earlier he had scored an unbeaten 109 against India in November last year. He has done enough for now and is all set for a big payday at the IPL auction later this month.

#3 Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn, the hard-hitting Australian batsman is someone who is trained specially for the shortest format of the game. With his six hitting ability, Lynn can win a match single-handedly on his day. Playing for Brisbane Heats in Big Bash League, Chris Lynn has scored tons of runs for the franchise.

He is the third on the list of the all-time highest run scorer in the BBL having scored 1539 runs in 48 matches at an astonishing strike rate of 158.17. He has the highest strike rate among batsmen who have scored more than 500 runs in the BBL.

He also became the first batsman to hit 100 sixes in the Australian league and leads Aaron Finch by a whopping 41 sixes. Finch who plays for Melbourne Renegades has hit 59 sixes.

In the IPL, Chris Lynn was signed by KKR in 2014 but didn't get many chances until last year. In the 2017 edition, he scored 295 runs in just 7 matches at a strike rate of 180.98 and an average of 49.16. His IPL stint was cut short owing to a shoulder injury but he has recovered well from it and is at his devastating best in the ongoing Big Bash League.

It was surprising that KKR chose Sunil Narine over Lynn for retention, leaving him in the auction pool. His performance in the ongoing BBL will be the deciding factor in his demand at the auction.

#2 Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc, the Australian fast bowler is one of the best bowlers in the world at present. Starc has been able to trouble the best of the batsmen in the world with his pace variations. His pinpoint yorkers are one of the hardest to tackle.

Starc was signed by RCB in the 2014 edition of the IPL and proved himself after constantly delivering match-winning performances. In the two seasons that he has played for them, Starc has clinched 34 wickets at an impressive economy of 7.16.

He missed the 2016 edition due to an injury and parted ways with the Bangalore based franchise before the 2017 edition to focus on the preparations for the Champions Trophy. He has shown his class yet again in the ongoing Ashes series where he is the highest wicket-taker even after missing a match.

All eyes will be on him at the auction as an experienced fast bowler is the priority for most of the franchises.

#1 Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes, the English cricketer is one of the best all-rounders of the current generation. He was the most expensive player in the last season of the IPL bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for a whopping Rs 14.5 crores. Since the Pune based franchise will not be participating in this year's edition, Ben Stokes will be back in the auction pool eying a big price again.

Ben Stokes lived up to the expectations of the team, performing both with the bat and the ball. In the 12 matches that he played last season, he scored 316 runs at a strike rate of 142.98 and took 12 wickets at an economy of 7.18. He could not play in the playoffs as he returned to England to resume his national duty. The final of the tournament would have been a different game had he been available for the team.

His all-round match-winning performances in the past make him the player with the highest potential in the shortest format. It will be interesting to see the history repeat itself when his name comes at the auction.