IPL 2022 Auction: 3 West Indians with a base price of ₹75 lakh who might go unsold

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction is almost upon us. 590 players will go under the hammer at the two-day auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. Among the 590 cricketers who will be up for grabs, 228 are capped players, 355 are uncapped players and 7 belong to Associate Nations.

The auction will also see 10 franchises taking part, with the addition of two new teams - the Lucknow Super Giants and the Gujarat Titans. 48 players have registered their name at the highest base price of ₹2 crore. Also, there are 20 cricketers with a reserve price of ₹1.5 crore and 34 players players have listed their name in the ₹1 crore bracket.

---

IPL 2022 Auction: Windies players unlikely to get picked

West Indian players have been in great demand in the IPL over the years. This time as well, 34 Caribbean cricketers have listed their names for the auction. However, we look at three Windies players in the ₹75 lakh bracket who might go unsold.

---

#1 Sheldon Cottrell

Sheldon Cottrell during the T20 series against England. Pic: Getty Images

West Indies left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell was surprisingly picked by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a whopping ₹8.5 crore at the IPL 2020 auction. He had done reasonably well in the build up to the tournament. Still, quite a few analysts were puzzled with PBKS’ decision. The move backfired as he managed only six wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 8.80.

Cottrell was on the receiving end of an assault from Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder Rahul Tewatia, who clobbered him for five sixes in one of the matches. Even in the other games, he did not look threatening and was easily taken for runs. The 32-year-old was unsold at the IPL 2021 auction at a base price of ₹1 crore.

The pace bowler recently featured in the T20I series against England at home. He did nothing spectacular, claiming four wickets in five matches at an economy rate of 7.55. Franchises might not be willing to go for Cottrell despite his relatively low base price.

---

#2 Carlos Brathwaite

Carlos Brathwaite during The Hundred. Pic: Getty Images

Carlos Brathwaite is best known as the man who struck four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes to lift West Indies to victory over England in the 2016 T20 World Cup final. However, his career has seen an unexpected slide in recent times. He hasn’t even played limited-overs cricket for West Indies since 2019. At 33, he doesn’t have a great chance of making a comeback unless he does something spectacular.

The all-rounder was picked by the Delhi franchise at a price of ₹4.2 crore at the IPL 2016 auction. However, he has only played 16 matches in the T20 league till date, in which he has scored 181 runs. His strike rate has been brilliant (163.06) but his consistency has let him down. With his medium pace, he has claimed 13 wickets at an economy rate of 8.95.

Brathwaite has not featured in the IPL since 2019, having gone unsold at subsequent auctions. He was last seen in action during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2021. However, the big-hitting all-rounder failed to make much of an impact. Representing the Jamaica Tallawahs, he scored 147 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 125.64. With the ball, he could only manage four scalps.

It looks like Brathwaite might go unsold again.

---

#3 Keemo Paul

West Indies all-rounder Keemo Paul. Pic: Getty Images

West Indies all-rounder Keemo Paul has also registered his name for the IPL auction at a base price of ₹75 lakh. He is a talented cricketer but might not have done enough to impress the IPL franchises ahead of the auction. The 23-year-old hasn’t played a limited-overs match for West Indies since November 2020 after failing to grab the opportunities that came his way.

Paul played four games for the Colombo Stars during the 2021-22 Lanka Premier League season. However, he managed only one scalp and did not have much to do with the bat as well. Before that, he did not have a great run in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2021 either. He played 10 matches for the St Lucia Kings but managed only seven wickets at an economy rate of 10.71. With the bat, he scored 39 runs at a good strike rate of 161.53.

The all-rounder has played in only one season of the IPL - the 2019 season. He turned out in eight matches for Delhi and claimed nine wickets at an average of 26.33. Paul did not get many opportunities to display his batting talent. Franchises might not show keen interest in the West Indian youngster considering his average returns.