IPL auction 2020: 3 England players who could be among the top 10 buys

Jason Roy
Jason Roy

English players have traditionally not made much noise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), either at the auction or on the field. Of course, there have been a few exceptions in the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and, to an extent, Kevin Pietersen in the early years of the tournament. The key reason behind this is that England weren’t that great in the limited overs' formats till a few years back. All that has of course changed post England’s embarrassing ouster in the 2015 World Cup.

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England are now the proud world champions, and have players that can take on the best in the world in the shorter formats. As a result, for perhaps the first time in the history of IPL auctions, a number of English players are likely to be in demand. With the IPL 2020 auction all set to be held in Kolkata on December 19, here’s a look at three England players who may end up being among the top 10 buys.


#1. Tom Banton

Tom Banton
Tom Banton

The English youngster Tom Banton has become a sensation even before being purchased by an IPL franchise. The 21-year-old swashbuckling talent is likely to start a bidding war between most franchises at the auction. In fact, if a Daily Mail report is to be believed, both Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are interested in purchasing Banton. The man himself told a cricket-specific website recently that he would love to play for Mumbai Indians.

Banton has been constantly making news for his aggressive batting, which has grabbed plenty of eyeballs. He put together 454 runs for Somerset in their successful One-Day Cup campaign. Further, Banton smashed 549 in the Vitality Blast, including a brilliant 100 from 52 balls against Kent. The talented batsman’s good run continued in the Abu Dhabi T10 League, in which he slammed two fifties, including a whirlwind 80 off 28 for Qalandars against Karnataka Tuskers.

Banton’s reverse-slaps and scoops have gathered a lot of attention, and even invited comparisons with Kevin Pietersen and Jos Buttler among others. There should be no shortage of excitement when his name comes up for bidding during the auction.

Jos Buttler.
Jos Buttler.

#2. Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan

There is no doubt that Eoin Morgan is one of the deadliest strikers in T20 cricket. Somehow, England’s limited overs' captain has not got his worth in the IPL. That is likely to change this time, with Morgan going into the auction as a highly-successful World Cup-winning captain, a tournament in which he made significant contributions with the bat as well.

Morgan hasn’t been part of the IPL in the last two seasons. After going unsold in 2018, he opted out of the 2019 season to focus on the World Cup. The move worked perfectly for England as they lifted the World Cup for the very first time. And now, Morgan has put up his name for auction at a base price of Rs 1.5 crore.

The left-hander made a big impression in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament, smashing 175 runs in 94 balls at a strike rate of 186.17. Before that, in the World Cup, he slammed a record 17 sixes against Afghanistan en route to his staggering 148 off 71 balls. Morgan has a highly impressive T20 record -- he has played 282 games and has over 6,000 runs to his credit at a strike rate of 131.37.

If one looks at IPL, Morgan last turned out for Kings XI Punjab in 2017, when he was purchased for Rs 2 crore. He had a poor series, with just 65 runs in four games. Overall in the IPL, Morgan has 854 runs in 52 games at a strike rate of 121.13. It is about time Morgan’s numbers improve.

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#3. Jason Roy

Jason Roy
Jason Roy

The England opener has been one of the central figures in England’s resurgence in limited overs' cricket, with his aggressive stroke-play at the top. And, following his game-changing performances in a successful World Cup campaign, Jason Roy is likely to be in demand once again at the auction.

His importance was visible in the World Cup when, after striking a half-century against South Africa and 153 versus Bangladesh, he suffered a hamstring injury. In his absence, England lost to Sri Lanka and Australia. They needed Roy’s return at the top to bring England’s campaign back on track. Roy struck three fifties against India, New Zealand, and Australia (semi-final) to clear the way for England’s progress to ultimate glory.

Roy smashed his career-best of 180 in ODIs against Australia at Melbourne in January 2018. In his overall T20 career, he has 5,000 runs in 199 games at a strike rate of 145.64, with four hundreds. He hasn’t been as consistent in the format, but that could change following his new-found confidence after the World Cup triumph.

In the recently-concluded Mzansi Super League, Roy managed only 118 runs in six innings for Nelson Mandela Bay Giants with a best of 50 from 38 against Durban Heat, a man-of-the match-winning effort. The underwhelming effort should not affect his popularity at the IPL auction. Roy showed his class in a 2018 IPL clash, representing Delhi Daredevils against Mumbai Indians, when he smashed an unbeaten 91 from 53 balls. Otherwise, he hasn’t done much in the tournament.

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Edited by S Chowdhury