IPL 2019: 5 overseas players who could go for big money at the auction

On 18th December when most of the eyes will be on the Test between India and Australia at Perth, there will be a few eyes focused on Jaipur to see who gets much money. The IPL 2019 auction has been scheduled on 18th December at Jaipur.

Even though the auction is a low-key affair there will be a lot of people following it. That’s the beauty of the IPL and its auction. People want to know which players have been bought by their favourite team and for how much money. They want to know who got the highest bid whereas who all went unsold.

There are also talks that a part of this year’s IPL won’t take place in India. So this changes the whole dynamics. There are completely new grounds, no home advantage and players need to get adjusted to these conditions pretty quickly. Due to this reason, overseas players will get more importance.

But there is another side to this IPL. With the World Cup taking place just after the IPL, many overseas players won’t be available for the whole season. So picking overseas players at a high price would be like a double-edged sword. They might take you to the playoffs but won’t be available for the most important of the tournament.

But still, there are quite a few stars which have been released by their respective franchises who would once again attract high bids in this auction. So, let’s have a look at 5 such overseas players who could go for big money.

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5. Glenn Maxwell

After a poor season in 2018, Maxwell is back in the auction

No matter how poor a season Maxwell has, he is always there to attract bidders. In 2017 he didn’t have a great season with KXIP and so they released him. Still in 2018 he was picked for 9 Crore by DD.

He once again had a really miserable IPL and has been released this year as well. So Maxwell is back at the auction. Maxwell had a brilliant IPL season in 2014 when KXIP reached the final, but since then he has just hasn’t stepped up.

Being an aggressive middle-order batsman who can bowl some tight overs sounds a great package, but the fact remains that he doesn’t deliver when his team is in need. IPL going abroad might help him a bit and so he has been slotted at No. 5 on this list.

4. Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran is a young wicket-keeper from the Caribbean

Nicholas Pooran is a 23-year-old left-handed wicket-keeper batsman from the Caribbean. He came into recognition when he was the 4th highest run-scorer in the 2014 U-19 World.

He is a hard-hitting batsman who can open as well as bat in the middle order. In the recently-concluded T10 league, he smashed 77 runs off just 25 balls that included two fours and ten huge sixes and helped his team score a mammoth total of 183 in just 10 overs!

He made his CPL debut as a 17-year-old and he scored 54 off just 24 balls against Guyana Amazon Warriors. Even in the 3rd T20I against India, he hit an entertaining half-century which included some incredible shots. He still hasn’t been an integral part of the Windies ODI team, a fact which might actually help him get an IPL contract as he might be available for the whole season compared to the others.

3. Shimron Hetmyer

Hetmyer was brilliant in the ODI series against India

Shimron Hetmyer is another aggressive middle-order Windies batsman who has the ability to clear the ground at will. He was in sublime form when Windies toured India for a 5-match ODI series.

He scored a brilliant hundred in the first ODI which helped his team post a competitive total. In the second ODI, he scored 94 off just 64 balls which included 7 big sixes as Windies tied the game against India. He was smashing the Indian spinners all over the park. He has already scored two hundreds and three fifties in his 17-match ODI career and that too at a strike rate of 108.53!

In this year’s CPL, he scored 440 runs in just 12 innings at an average of 40 and at a stunning strike-rate of 148.15 which included a century off just 49 balls. These numbers are enough for a batsman of his capability to get a high bid in this year’s auction.

2. Mohammad Shahzad

Mohammad Shahzad smashed 74 off just 16 balls in a T10 game

Mohammad Shahzad has already created a name for himself because of his big-hitting. The 30-year-old wicket-keeper batsman from Afghanistan has a great record at the international level in the T20Is.

He has scored 1860 runs in 64 innings at an average of 30.49 and a strike-rate of 134.01. He has 11 fifties and a T20I hundred to his name. But it’s not about his international records. It’s all about what he is doing in these different leagues.

In the recently-concluded T10 league, his team was chasing 95 in the allotted 10 overs and he, alongside Brendon McCullum, chased them down in just 4 overs! Yes, you read that right! 96 runs were scored in just 4 overs out of which Shahzad scored 74 in just 16 balls which included 6 fours and 8 sixes. These are absolutely insane numbers. For the last 2-3 years, he is trying to get an IPL contract and this might be the year when he gets it.

1. Aaron Finch

Aaron Finch's release came as a surprise

Even though Finch had a poor season last year, the move to release him came as a surprise to many fans. Aaron Finch is currently the No. 3 ranked ICC T20I batsman. He has been phenomenal in this format for Australia and for his franchises over the years.

He has the two highest scores in this format, the highest against Zimbabwe (172 off 76 balls) and the second highest against England (156 off 63 balls). He can demolish an opposition in a short time when he is on song. He is equally good against the quicks and the spinners. He has a great T20I record as he has scored 1663 runs in 50 innings at an average of 38.67 and a strike-rate of 156.3. He has all the experience which is required in the shortest format and it would be surprising to see if he doesn’t get a high bid at this year’s player auction.