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When Delhi Capitals released Shreyas Iyer ahead of the 2022 IPL mega-auction, it was clear that he would be one of the highest bids during the event. Iyer has expressed his interest in the captaincy for the upcoming season.
It was evident that franchises like RCB and KKR, who wanted a captain for their forthcoming season, were on signing him. So when Hugh Edmeades announced his name during the auction, everyone anticipated a bidding war for Iyer.
The bid started with RCB jumping ahead of the other franchises. However, before anyone could even take a breather, his price went up to INR 4.2 crores. It was a great contest to watch between RCB, Delhi, and Lucknow.
Just as it seemed like only three franchises were going for the fight, KKR and Gujrat jumped in. Iyer became the first player at the 2022 mega-auction to cross double figures.
On that note, we look at three reasons why Shreyas Iyer was worth a bidding war in this auction.
#3 Shreyas Iyer is a proven captain
Iyer is a consistent player who has proven himself to be ideal captaincy material in previous editions of the IPL. Right from taking over the reins for the Delhi Capitals (Delhi Daredevils then), Iyer led the team from the front.
Under his captaincy, Delhi reached qualifiers in 2019 for the first time in seven years and the final in the 2020 edition for the first time.
For franchises like RCB and KKR, who were looking for a revamp in their leadership team for a more competitive season, Iyer was the ideal candidate.
#2 Iyer can bring stability to the middle-order
If we look closely at the teams that bid for Iyer, all the franchises are looking for a stable middle-order batter. RCB have retained Glenn Maxwell, but they want a batter on whom they can rely without AB de Villiers in the side. KKR did not retain middle-order batsmen retained before the auction.
The two new teams, Gujarat and Lucknow, have announced selected players like Hardik Pandya and Marcus Stoinis, respectively. Still, all players have an explosive batting style that requires a stable, more reliable partner at the other end.
#1 Building a franchise for the future
If we look at Shreyas Iyer's career compared to players like Virat Kohli, Eoin Morgan or David Warner, Iyer is a relatively young leader with only 88 IPL matches to his name. He is just 27 yet and has a lot of cricket remaining in him. Iyer averages over 31 with a balanced strike rate of almost 124 in the IPL.
Franchises building a team for the future will be looking at these numbers. Shreyas Iyer is undoubtedly a candidate for long-term investment in building a solid title-winning franchise.
