IPL Auction 2020: 5 overseas players who could receive major bids

According to the official BCCI announcement, the IPL 2020 auctions will take place at Kolkata on 19 December 2019. The pre-auction trade window will be open with a deadline of 15 November 2019.

Overseas players generate a lot of excitement among the fans of the IPL who find it fascinating to see the Indian players combining with their international counterparts to put on show stopping performances.

However, choosing the right combination of foreign players is a difficult task for the franchises as there are just a few overseas slots allotted to each of them.

The managements have to make sure that each player they select is a match-winner who has a crucial role in the playing XI. Owing to their recent form, some overseas players who were not part of the previous season could be in demand this year.

Predictably, experienced players like Eoin Morgan, Mitchell Starc and Jason Roy would incite a bidding war. However, some unforeseen overseas individuals mentioned in the following list could also receive a contract with some buzz this year.

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#5 Jason Holder

Jason Holder.

It has been a while since Jason Holder last played an IPL match. Holder has played for Chennai Super Kings, SunRisers Hyderabad, and Kolkata Knight Riders in his IPL career. However, he doesn't hold a grandiose IPL resume.

During the 2019 IPL auction, Holder found no buyers for his lofty base price of 1.5 crore INR. From the franchises' point of view, it was reasonable for them to avoid Holder as they were unconfident about spending that much cash on him.

However, Holder has a high chance of getting a contract in this year's auction. The career trajectory of Holder looks brighter this year. Cricket West Indies has named him as the Test Player of the Year 2019. ICC ranked him as their #1 Test all-rounder during January 2019 - a place which he still holds.

During the 2019 World Cup, Holder achieved a milestone of 100 ODI matches for West Indies. Apart from all these achievements, Holder was the third leading wicket-taker in CPL 2019 and spearheaded the Barbados Tridents to a title victory.

Also see - Live cricket score

#4 Mushfiqur Rahim

Mushfiqur Rahim.

Mushfiqur Rahim has not even made his debut in the cash-rich league yet. As usual, the veteran found no takers in last year's auction for his base price of 50 lakhs INR. Therefore, nobody expects Rahim to get a contract this year.

However, his name could attract some attention due to his consistent performances during the 2019 ICC World Cup. The wicket-keeper batsman was the second-highest run-getter for Bangladesh during the torunament.

Rahim notched 367 runs in eight matches at an average of 52.43 and a strike rate of 92.68. He also scored a century and two half-centuries in that tournament. Such impressive performances will not fail to grab the attention of the franchises.

Also, the Bangladesh veteran is an expert in sub-continental conditions; he is the second leading run-scorer in the history of the Bangladesh Premier League with 1783 runs in 67 innings. Therefore, this might be the year where Rahim gets his long-awaited IPL call-up.

#3 Cameron Delport

Cameron Delport.

Kolkata Knight Riders selected Cameron Delport in the 2018 IPL auction. However, they were not able to accommodate him in the playing XI for that season. Thus, the management released Delport ahead of the following season.

With a base price of just 30.00 lakh INR, Delport failed to find a buyer in the 2019 auction. The scenario could be different this time. The South African batter looks like a million bucks after his impressive stint with Essex in the 2019 Vitality Blast.

With 409 runs in 14 matches, Delport made a significant contribution to the series-winning campaign of Essex Eagles. The southpaw's 49-ball 129 with a strike of 263.27 against Surrey was the highest individual score of the tournament.

In the English summer, Delport's strike rate against spin was a whopping 193.7. Equally immense was his strike rate (161.2) against pace. No wonder he received a contract in the 2019 Hundred Draft. An IPL contract could be in store for him too.

#2 Lendl Simmons

Lendl Simmons.

Lendl Simmons has played only for Mumbai Indians throughout his IPL career. During his three year tenure, he amassed a total of 1079 runs in 29 IPL matches. However, he has found it hard to secure a contract since parting ways with Mumbai after 2017.

First, he set his base price for a whopping 1.50 crore INR in the 2018 auction, so the franchises ignored him. Then in the subsequent one, Simmons lowered his starting price to INR 75.00 Lakh. Still, the franchises left him alone.

Therefore, critics assumed that Simmons' IPL career was over. After the 2019 CPL though, the opener seems to have a shot at a second coming in his IPL career.

With 430 runs in 11 innings at an average of 39.09, Simmons became the second leading CPL run-scorer in their 2019 season. As a veteran who is making the necessary noises, Simmons would be getting much-needed attention this time around.

#1 Jean-Paul Duminy

JP Duminy.

JP Duminy is one of the best overseas players to have played in the IPL. The veteran all-rounder was an integral part of Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the 2014 and 2015 seasons; he notched 410 and 414 runs respectively in those seasons.

Mumbai Indians selected him for the 2018 season. However, Duminy didn't do anything exceptional for them that year. As a result, he was released by the franchise ahead of the 2019 auction.

In the auction, Duminy, unfortunately, found no buyers for his base price of 1 crore INR. Experts believe that his IPL career is over. However, the South African could receive a chance this year to make his IPL comeback due to his recent exploits.

In the 2019 Global T20 League Canada, Duminy was the lead scorer (332) and part of the series-winning Winnipeg Hawks. The all-rounder won the Player of the Series award in the end as well. Duminy also had a good season with the Barbados Tridents, who won CPL 2019.

Being part of the two series-winning teams in the same year, Duminy could be in contention to land a contract in this year's auction.