IPL 2019 Auctions: 5 Players To Watch Out For 

The 8 IPL franchises released their retention list on November 15, 2018. Every team retained some players, traded some and released others. CSK retained 23 players, the most by a team whereas KXIP retained just 9, the least.

There were quite a few unexpected releases, some of whom included Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, and Brendon McCullum, just to name a few. Axar Patel and Sarfaraz Khan were the players who were retained in the previous season but were released this time. David Warner and Steve Smith, who did not play last season due to ban following the ball-tampering scandal, were also retained by SRH and RR respectively.

The auctions for the season are reportedly to be held on 19th and 20th December 2018 in Jaipur and the stage is set for an epic battle between franchises to get some good players to make their teams stronger. Here are a few players who are expected to get a large amount and will be on the eyes of every franchise:

#5 Axar Patel

Axar Patel was the only retained player by Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2018, where he was retained at a price of 12.5 crores. However, he has been released by KXIP this year.

An Indian all-rounder, he provides a perfect spin option to every team along with playing the role of a finisher. He has a good economy of 7.53 and has the ability the ability to bowl a few tight overs in the powerplay and middle overs. In addition to this, he has a strike rate of 126.57 which makes him a perfect player.

He will play an important role for any team he plays. Therefore, it will be interesting to see which team goes after him.

#4 Jaydev Unadkat

The left-arm pacer will provide a variety to pace attack

Jaydev Unadkat was bought by Rajasthan Royals in 2018 for a huge sum of Rs 11.5 crores due to his fantastic performance for Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017. That year, he picked up 24 wickets in 12 matches.

However, he has been released this season due to pressure on him to deliver good performances. He had a poor outing last year where he could pick just 11 wickets in 15 matches at a poor average of 44.18.

The Indian left-arm pacer has 67 wickets in 62 IPL matches at an average of 26.78. He even has 1 five-wicket haul to his name. He has the ability to bowl tight overs in powerplay and death overs. Once, he finds the rhythm, it becomes very difficult to play him.

He provides variety to the bowling attack. This makes it interesting to see which teams go after him.

#3 Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell will want to perform better than last year

Glenn Maxwell was bought by Delhi Daredevils in 2018 for a mammoth price of 9 crores. However, he could manage just 169 runs in that season at a poor average of 14.08. He could not score any 50s or 100s with his highest score being 47.

But everyone knows how big impact player Glenn Maxwell is. He has a strike rate of 161.13 and has the ability to score quick runs. This makes him a good finisher. He can also bowl and play the role of an all-rounder for his team. This has been seen when he plays for Australia. He even has taken 77 wickets for Australia and has scored 2 centuries for them.

He can be a utility player for any team. Therefore, it will be interesting to see who goes after this 30-year-old during the IPL auctions.

#2 Aaron Finch

It will be interesting to see who buys Finch

Kings XI Punjab had bought Aaron Finch in 2018 for a whopping sum of Rs 6.2 crores. However, the Aussie batsman could score only 134 runs in 10 matches in the season at a poor average of 13.4. That 134 neither included any 50+ score nor any 100+. Due to his poor performances, he has been released by the team for this year.

But, this explosive batsman is a lot better than that performance. He has a strike rate of 130.38 in IPL and is a reliant player both in the top-order as well the middle-order. He will be the first choice of the teams like RCB and RR who want to strengthen their batting for the upcoming season.

Let us see whether he gets to play for an eighth franchise or is again bought by any of the seven franchises he has played for before.

#1 Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami will play an important role for whichever franchise he plays for

The right-arm-fast-medium bowler was bought by Delhi Daredevils, using the Right To Match card in 2018 at the price of Rs 3 crores. However, he could manage only 3 wickets in 4 matches at a poor average of 48 and economy rate of 10.40.

But he is a much better bowler than that. He has the ability to swing the ball at a good pace and can be fatal during the Powerplay and middle-overs. He has a good amount of experience in the IPL as well as in white ball cricket for India.

Moreover, being an Indian bowler makes him a top pick. He will surely be every franchises' choice in the upcoming auctions, especially the ones who are lacking a good bowling lineup.