3 teams that could go after Oshane Thomas at the auction

West Indies has produced some of the greatest cricketers of all time. Garfield Sobers, Michael Holding, Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Curtly Ambrose are some of the best that West Indies has ever produced. Even though the condition of West Indies cricket has deteriorated in the last couple of decades in Test and ODI cricket, it has emerged as a powerhouse in T20 cricket. The Caribbean islands have produced some of the biggest names of T20 cricket like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard to name a few.

The latest to join the list is Oshane Thomas. Thomas came into limelight after a strong performance in the recently concluded CPL where he took 18 wickets in 10 matches and was the second highest wicket-taker of the season. Apart from his stats, the thing that impressed everyone was Thomas' raw pace. The strongly built Jamaican bowled some brutal deliveries in the CPL and was fast-tracked in the West Indies side for the series against India.

After a nervous start to his international career in the ODI series, Thomas showed his pedigree in the T20I series. The 21-year-old picked up wickets of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan with a couple of rippers in the first T20I.

IPL has always been a breeding ground for exciting talents like Oshane Thomas. When the hammer goes up for Thomas at the auction next month, there will be a lot of teams bidding for the fast bowler. Here is a look at the teams that might bid for Oshane Thomas at the auction.

#3 Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR need to get in quality fast bowlers to back their spinners

Kolkata Knight Riders had a strong pace attack before the start of IPL 2018. They had the experience of Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson, and the exuberance of youth in Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. But unfortunately, Mitchell Starc and Kamlesh Nagarkoti were ruled out of the tournament because of injuries. Things got worse when Mitchell Johnson and Tom Curran, who replaced Starc, failed to lead the bowling attack in the absence of Starc.

With Johnson already retired and Starc likely to be unavailable, KKR might opt for Thomas.

#2 Mumbai Indians

Bumrah fought a lone battle on the bowling front in 2018

One of the major reasons for Mumbai Indians' disappointing run in IPL 11 was the ineffectiveness of their overseas fast bowlers. Mumbai Indians suffered a huge blow even before the start of the tournament as the Australian pair of Pat Cummins and Jason Behrendorff were ruled out of the tournament.

Other pacers in the side, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mustafizur Rahman and Ben Cutting, all failed to live up to expectations and left a lot Jasprit Bumrah with a lot of work to do. They are in a desperate need of a wicket-taking fast bowling option.

In the past, MI haven't shied away from spending big bucks on players they feel have the potential to contribute significantly to their success. Skipper, Rohit Sharma, has already spoken highly about Thomas so it won't be a surprise if Mumbai Indians bid fiercely for the young pace sensation at the auction.

#1 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Woakes is all set to be dropped this season

Royal Challengers Bangalore were tagged as the pre-tournament favourites in the eleventh season of the IPL. They seemed to have every base covered and looked like a side to beat. But things went haywire for the franchise and they ended yet another disappointing season by finishing sixth in the points table.

Among the many things that went wrong for RCB was the below-par performance of their overseas fast bowlers. Nathan Coulter-Nile was injured before the season while Chris Woakes looked completely off-colour in the matches he played for RCB.

RCB and Virat Kohli are known for their aggressive approach whether it's on the field or at the auction. They bought Tymal Mills, who also was relatively new in international cricket, for a jaw-dropping price of 12 crores at the 2017 auction.

RCB might go along a similar line this year and get Oshane Thomas on board with a hope that he will provide the X-factor they lacked last year.