IPL 2018 Auction: 5 uncapped players who could lead to a bidding war 

The Indian Premier League is one of the mosts decorated and coveted event in the world, with over 578 players registering themselves for the auctions.

While in retention most of the franchises have picked all the capped players, with only Royal Challengers Bangalore picking up uncapped Sarfraz Khan. The other franchises have not retained their uncapped players, who now are available in the IPL auction later this week.

With the auction being one of the most anticipated events ahead of the IPL, here we look at five such uncapped players who could create a bidding war in the IPL auction.

1) Mayank Agarwal

The Karnataka opener has had a big season in the Ranji Trophy, where he scored over 1000 runs in the span of 27 days of cricket, making him the highest run-scorer for the season. The right-hander's season kicked off when he scored an unbeaten 304 against Maharashtra in Pune, following it up with scores of 179,90,133,173 and 104.

Mayank's 2017 IPL stint with the Rising Pune Supergiant was one to forget for the right-hander as he managed to only score 26 runs in the three games that he played for the Smith-led side.

The 2016 season too was a disastrous one for the right-hander. However, all said and done, Mayank has been in some scintillating form for Karnataka this season and with a base price of 20 lakhs, it is certain that the right-hander willl be a handy buy for any franchise.

Teams who would look to get him: Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab

2) Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi at Rising Pune Supergiant

Another IPL sensation, Rahul Tripathi smoked the bowlers all over the park in the 2017 IPL to become a household name in the country. A soft-spoken Tripathi proved else wise when he walked down the pitch to take on the pace bowlers to tonk them over the field on to the leg-side.

In 14 matches, the 26-year-old scored 391 runs at an average of 27.92, which is more than decent for a debutant. The right-handed opener was a revelation for the Steve Smith led Rising Pune Supergiant side who fought their way through to the finals, with a one-run loss causing them to miss out on a well-deserved title. A strike-rate of 146.44 is something that any franchise would need at the top of the order to get off to a thunderous start. With a base price of just 20 lakhs, Tripathi is quite a bargain.

Teams who would look to get him: Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders

3) Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar celebrates after scoring his maiden IPL fifty

The 26-year-old from Tirunelveli has been nothing short of spectacular in the last two years. After captaining the Tamil Nadu limited overs team, Vijay Shankar was picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad, where he excelled under the captaincy of the Australian David Warner. The much-needed confidence excelled the capabilities of the right-handed all-rounder.

However, it was not the first franchise that he played for after having played a game for his home franchise Chennai Super Kings in the 2014 IPL where he could not make much of the impact. A resurgent Vijay played four games for SRH, where he scored over 100 runs, with the best score of 63 with an average of 50.50. With a base price of 40 lakhs, franchises would be looking to add the all-rounder to their arsenal.

Teams who would look to get him: Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings

4) Rajneesh Gurbani

Rajneesh Gurbani has impressed one and all in the Ranji Trophy

Not as pacy as the previous player on the list, Rajneesh Gurbani has been a consistent sensation in the Ranji Trophy. While Mayank Agarwal tonked the ball to all parts, Gurbani took the wickets out for a walk.

The right-arm pacer finished the Ranji Trophy as the second-highest wicket-taker, picking up 39 wickets.

The 24-year-old had a memorable run in the finals, where he picked up a hattrick becoming the second bowler to achieve this feat in the finals. Gurbani's eye for the swinging delivery would be something that the batsmen would have to look out for, with all the three wickets in his hattrick coming off bowled. Gurbani's haul of 12 wickets in the semi-finals against Karnataka was a glimpse of what the bowler has to offer to the franchises at 20 lakhs.

Teams who would look to get him: Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings

5) Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana steers Mumbai Indians to another IPL victory

While all the focus was on the likes of Kieron Pollard and Jos Buttler, the left-handed Nitish Rana made the right noise by scoring runs on a consistent basis. The 24-year-old from Delhi made his debut in the 2016 IPL where he played four games, with a high score of 70.

However, it was in the next season that Rana became a regular in the Mumbai Indians setup. In the 13 innings that Rana played in the 2017 IPL, he scored 333 runs at an average of 30.27 which is more than good in one season of IPL.

At 20 lakhs, franchises would be crowding up to bag the Delhiite who in the last year has had a scintillating run in the league.

Teams who would look to get him: Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders