IPL 2019: 3 factors that will play a huge role in the upcoming auction

Over 1000 players registered for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. Among them, 346 cricketers from all over the world will go under the hammer in Jaipur on 18 December 2018.

For the first time in the history of the IPL auctions, Richard Madley will not don the role of the auctioneer. Hugh Edmeades, an independent fine art, classic car and charity auctioneer, will instead take center stage for the 2019 IPL auction.

A good showing by a franchise at the auction table will ensure that the job is half done even before the commencement of the first game. However, the end result will always be based on the performances on the field.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is an excellent example for this statement. Although they have consistently had some great players in their squad, they have never been able to win the trophy.

With the players' list out for the upcoming auction, let us look at three factors that will play an crucial role on Auction Day.

#3 Players' availability

Players like Mitchell Starc, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell have already opted out of IPL 2019

With the ICC World Cup 2019 scheduled soon after the end of the IPL, a few cricket boards are concerned about the fatigue and burnout their players could experience during the packed calendar.

Cricket Australia (CA) have already announced that the players picked in the national squad for the World Cup will not play the entire IPL season. Players like Mitchell Starc, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell have voluntarily opted out of IPL 2019.

Recently, Mustafizur Rahman was denied a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for the upcoming IPL. On the other hand, New Zealand Cricket have allowed their players to take part in the entire season of IPL.

There were even reports of Virat Kohli requesting the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to manage the workload of Indian fast bowlers during the forthcoming IPL season. Hence, the franchises will be wary of the availability of players before bidding for them.

#2 The base prices

Angelo Mathews has listed himself under the INR 2 crore category

It is a no-brainer that the base price of a player will always play an essential role in an IPL auction. With the players slotted in different sets and being picked randomly, the base price will be crucial on auction day.

Nine overseas players have listed themselves under the INR 2 crore category. Among them, players like Corey Anderson, Angelo Mathews and D’Arcy Short have high chances of going unsold because of their high base price.

In the INR 1.5 crore category, players like Morne Morkel, Rilee Rossouw, Luke Wright and Liam Dawson have massive chances of going unsold.

Not too long ago, Chris Gayle went unsold twice and was finally bought by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) for his base price of INR 2 crore.

Meanwhile, Shimron Hetmyer, who is widely expected to be among the biggest buys for this season, has placed himself under the lowly INR 50 lakh category.

#1 The venue of the event

South Africa hosted the 2009 edition of IPL

In the decade-long history of IPL, the tournament was held outside India twice. In 2009, South Africa hosted the entire tournament. In 2014, a part of the competition was played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On both the occasions, General Elections in India were the reason.

The 2019 general election dates are again supposed to collide with the IPL season. As a result, there is a high chance of the tournament being moved out of India - just like 2009 and 2014.

With the venue for the upcoming season not announced yet, the franchises will strategize their auction plan based on all the possible scenarios.

As of now, South Africa looks like the front-runner to host the upcoming IPL. In fact, South Africa also tops the list of overseas players in the auction list, with 26 players.