IPL auctions 2017: Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Chris Woakes list themselves at highest base price

What’s the story?

England’s Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and limited overs skipper Eoin Morgan are set to be the biggest attractions in the upcoming auctions of the Indian Premier League. They are a part of a list which comprises 7 players who have listed themselves at the highest base price of Rs 2 Crore (approx US $298,000 ).

This list also has Indian pacer Ishant Sharma, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews and the Australian fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Pat Cummins. The IPL player auction is slated to be held in Bangalore on February 20.

Extra Cover: 5 England players who could start a bidding war

The details:

There are a total of 799 players in the initial roster which would be trimmed after the franchises submit their choices before the deadline expires at the end of this week.

The list consists of 160 capped players from eight countries minus Bangladesh and Pakistan and 639 uncapped players from only five countries which include India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies.

There is already tremendous interest building around the England players as many of the limited overs specialists have decided to throw in their names for this year’s auction and the franchises believe that the players would be a great addition to their squads.

However, since they have to put a majority of these players back into the auction pool in 2018, the franchises would tread this path cautiously and despite the inflated purse, they would be careful in splashing too much on players for just one season.

The fact that Stokes, Woakes and Morgan have marked themselves so highly is a clear indication of their mentality and in many ways reflects the frenzy England players could create in the upcoming auctions.

Apart from the aforementioned players, other England players too have listed their base price. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow (INR 1.5 crore), batsmen Alex Hales and Jason Roy (INR 1 crore) and fast bowlers Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills (INR 50 lakh) have thrown in their names too.

Extra Cover: Full list of players retained and released by the teams ahead of IPL Auction 2017

In case you didn’t know...

Ever since Andrew Strauss assumed the mantle of England cricket he has allowed his players to take part in different leagues all around the world to gain exposure across different conditions.

During the series against India, many England players spoke about the attraction of the IPL and expressed their desire to take part in the competition.

What's next?

The league is yet to decide on the retention policy for this year’s auction, but the franchisees expect the right-to-match option to be available. According to this option, the franchisees have the option of buying the specific number of players they have released for the auction. In order to purchase the players, they would have to match the highest bid attracted by the player, and if the bids are the same amount they get the player.

Sportskeeda’s take

Ben Stokes was one of the prominent England players during the just concluded series against India and thus he would be a hot cake for the different teams. Apart from him, Woakes and Morgan come into the auction with a lot of frenzy and the base prices set by different players is only an extension of the prevalent belief around the cricketing circles about the worth and promise of these players.

The base price in many ways is a just indication of the potential of the players and more often than not a lower base price attracts bids as compared to the lofty base price owing to the exorbitant amount involved.