IPL 2022 Auction: 3 England players with ₹1.5 crore base price who might go unsold 

England's cricketers have had a big role to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years. Jonny Bairstow has played some fantastic knocks for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) while Jofra Archer has been superb when available. Talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes has also been in huge demand owing to his versatile skills.

As per the latest reports, England's players are likely to miss the latter stages of IPL 2022. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is expected to pull the players out so that they can prepare for the three-match Test series against New Zealand. The first Test against New Zealand begins on June 2 while IPL 2022 is likely to go on until the end of May.

Earlier, England’s wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler and all-rounder Moeen Ali were retained by their respective franchises Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction.

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IPL 2022 Auction: Will these English players find any takers?

A few England players have registered for the auction at a base price for ₹1.5 crore. We look at three such names who might go unsold.

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#1 Alex Hales

Alex Hales of the Thunder bats during the Men's Big Bash League. Pic: Getty Images

Attacking England batter Alex Hales has never been in demand in the IPL despite his wonderful exploits in the T20 format. He has only featured in one edition of the Indian T20 league. Hales represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018, scoring 148 runs in six games at a strike rate of 125.42.

He could have pushed his case had he impressed in the Big Bash League (BBL) 2021-22. The 33-year-old, however, registered average returns. He notched up 383 runs in 13 matches for Sydney Thunder at a strike rate of 148.44 with two fifties and a best of 80*.

Hales, who has played 327 T20s, has amassed over 9000 runs with five hundreds and possesses an excellent career strike rate of 146.04. However, owing to the controversies surrounding him (failed drug test in 2019), he has not represented England for close to three years. While one cannot say with certainty, IPL franchises might also be apprehensive regarding the same.

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#2 Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan during the 2nd T20 against West Indies. Pic: Getty Images

England’s white-ball captain Eoin Morgan led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL 2021 final. However, he had a disastrous season with the bat. The left-hander managed only 133 runs in 17 matches at an average of 11.08 and a below-par strike rate of 95.68. Unsurprisingly, Morgan was not retained by the franchise ahead of the mega auction.

In addition to the Indian T20 league, the Englishman has also struggled in international cricket over the past year. Since the start of January 2021, Morgan has scored a mere 180 runs in 18 T20I matches at a paltry average of 16.36 with a best of 40. The left-hander’s fragile confidence has been exposed by bowlers series after series.

Morgan would have hoped to begin 2022 on a positive note, but it has not been a great start for the England captain. The 35-year-old was dismissed for 17 in the first T20I of the five-match series against West Indies in Bridgetown and followed it up with 13 in the second.

To make matters worse, he has been ruled out of the T20I series after sustaining a quad injury. Not much for IPL franchises to bank upon as far as Morgan’s batting skills are concerned.

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#3 Dawid Malan

Dawid Malan during the T20 World Cup. Pic: Getty Images

The England left-hander made his IPL debut for Punjab Kings during the 2021 edition. Dawid Malan played only one match for the franchise, against Delhi Capitals in Ahmedabad, in which he scored a run-a-ball 26. The 34-year-old subsequently decided to skip the UAE leg of the edition.

Malan is among the top-ranked batters in the Men’s T20I rankings. In 36 matches for England, he has scored 1239 runs at an excellent average of 41.30 and a strike rate of 137.20. However, in the overall T20s his strike rate drops to 127.42.

The southpaw had a good chance to impress IPL franchises during the T20 World Cup last year. However, he had an average tournament, scoring 116 runs in six games at a strike rate of 119.58. It will be somewhat surprising if Malan gets picked by any of the franchises at the mega auction.