IPL 2019 Auction: Top 3 picks among the released players

With the 12th edition of the IPL around the corner, it was an active Thursday for the IPL franchises and the fans alike. There’s news that the IPL auction for the upcoming season would be held in Jaipur next month (some sources say it will be on Dec 18 and 19, though official reports are not out). Most of the franchisees have released some players to make room for themselves for the auction.

While Chennai Super Kings remains the team that has released the least players (3), most of the other teams have released a good number of players ahead of the IPL. Some trading between the teams has already made the headlines. Some of the worthy mentions being Shikhar Dhawan to Delhi Daredevils, Marcus Stoinis to Royal Challengers Bangalore, Quinton de Kock to Mumbai Indians and Mandeep Singh to Kings XI Punjab.

Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir getting released from Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils respectively also made the headlines yesterday.

With the next season of IPL coming up, here are few players who could be top picks among the lot.

Carlos Brathwaite:

Brathwaite, who is the current captain of the West Indies T20 International team and is well-known for hitting 4 consecutive sixes against Ben Stokes in the ICC World T20 final in Kolkata in 2016, helping Windies register one of their famous and thrilling wins in the history of the game is one among the top picks this season.

The star striker made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils in 2016. Though he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018, he was released ahead of the upcoming auction for IPL 2019. Although his IPL record is below average, he registered a decent T20 series against India (though Windies lost the series 0-3). Given his ability to perform well, he still remains one of the few good picks for the next season.

Mitchell Starc:

Starc is one of the fastest bowlers today.

This Australian fast bowler was roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders last season but was not able to deliver due to an injury. Starc, whose name is one among the fastest bowlers today, is a deadly bowler who can strike fear into the batsmen.

His consistent performances earned him the prestigious Man of the Tournament award in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, thus helping Australia claim the title.

With KKR releasing Starc, other franchises are on the lookout for this talented bowler.

Aaron Finch:

Finch can be a dangerous batsman

Finch, who currently captains the Australian Cricket Team in the limited overs cricket is very well known for his aggressive style of play. An excellent finisher, he has been released by the Kings XI Punjab ahead of the upcoming auction.

Though he had a poor run in IPL last season (he scored just 134 runs in 10 matches), this hard-hitter, who is the first batsman to score a 150 in a T20 international match, is still one among the few decent picks this season.