IPL 2022 auction: 4 overseas spinners who can turns heads at the mega auction

The IPL Auction 2022 is slated to go live today on February 12th and 13th at 12 PM IST and is going to be the biggest auction in a while. 590 players have registered themselves hoping to be picked up by any of the 10 franchises. This new edition will feature as many as 74 games due to the addition of two new teams - Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans.

Over the years, spinners have been instrumental in the success of various IPL teams. Spinners sometimes have a bigger role to play in the IPL than the pacers. The IPL 2022 mega auction and all the 10 franchises are gearing up to choose players from a group of 590 players (370 Indians, 220 overseas).

On that note, let's take a look at 4 overseas spinners who can earn big bucks at the IPL mega auction.

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#1 Adam Zampa

Australia v Sri Lanka - T20 Series: Game 1

The Australian leg-spinner has set his base price for ₹2 Crore. He played for the Royal Challengers Banaglore in the 2020 edition and for the Rising Pune Supergiants before that back in 2016. In 2020 edition, he didn't get regular chances to play, so he could get only 2 wickets from 3 matches at an economic rate of 8.36.

Though he opted out of the last year's tournament without playing a single game, Zampa is a reputed name in the shortest format and a true game-changer.

Moreover, leggies have a high demand in shorter formats of the game, so in this year's auction, Zampa will be a key player to keep an eye on.

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#2 Shakib-Al-Hasan

Guyana Amazon Warriors v Barbados Tridents - 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League Final (CPL)

The former Bangladeshi skipper has been quite successful in T20 cricket, especially when it comes to IPL. He played for the Kolkata Knight Riders last year but didn't really find his feet throughout the tournament. He picked up 4 wickets in 8 matches and scored just 47 runs. However, his all-round ability to bat, bowl and field extremely well puts him in the driver's seat among franchises looking for a veteran all-rounder.

Shakib brings his experience and good form to the table and could be a great buy for franchises searching for an established all-rounder.

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#3 Tabraiz Shamsi

England v South Africa - ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021

Though the South African spinner doesn't hold much IPL experience, Shamsi is the world's number 2 ranked T20I bowler. He played for RCB back in 2016 and took 3 scalps in 4 matches. Last year Shamsi was in the Rajasthan Royals camp but was given only a game to play.

However, in T20Is, Shamsi has taken 57 wickets in 47 matches. He had a good run recently in India's tour of South Africa and that will give franchises the confidence on his form. The left-arm unorthodox spinner brings in an added mystery to his bowling that makes him a deadly weapon in any team's arsenal.

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#4 Wanindu Hasaranga

Australia v Sri Lanka - T20 Series: Game 1

Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga has been quite impressive in various competitve T20 leagues across the globe. He was also the leading wicket-taker in last year's T20 World Cup with 16 scalps in 8 games, including an iconic hat-trick against South Africa. After this feat, he was bought by RCb ahead of the UAE phase of IPL 2021 but not given many opportunities.

The Galle-born leggie is currently the world no.1 spin bowler in T20s and his power-hitting skills will be an additional factor in attracting franchise owners towards him at the IPL 2022 mega auction.

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Honorable Mentions:

Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Adil Rashid, Mohammad Nabi, Akeil Hossain.