IPL 2019 Auctions: 5 players who can start a bidding war

The IPL teams have completed the process to retain their players for the 2019 season, throwing up some interesting surprises with the list of retained and released players. With the respective purses beefed up, the teams now will keep an eye on the upcoming auctions to shore up their reserves.

Here we take a look at 5 players who could possibly earn big in the 2019 auctions.

Mohammad Shahzad

The diminutive, big hitting lad from Afghanistan, Shahzad has shown tremendous abilities with the bat both in domestic as well as International events. He gave a great account of his prowess in the Asia Cup when he took the Indian bowling apart as he smacked a century.

In the ongoing T10 tournament in UAE, the stocky batsman has been in rampant form. Playing for the Rajputs, he scored a barely believable 16 ball 74* which included 6 fours and 8 towering sixes helping his side chase a total in excess of 90 in under 5 overs.

Shahzad has always maintained that he his a huge fan of former India captain MS Dhoni, and always tries to emulate him - his near perfect 'helicopter shots' aptly sum up his admiration for the Indian legend.

In 77 one day internationals, he has scored 2544 runs, with an average of 34+, scoring 5 hundreds. In 64 T20Is for Afghanistan, the wicketkeeper-batsman has 1860 runs, averaging above, with a strike rate of 134.

He also holds the Afghan record for the first century in ODis and also the first double hundred in a first class game. Among the associate nations, Shahzad has the record for being awarded the player of the match on maximum occasions.

Come IPL 2019, we could arguably see a slug fest between franchises to rope Shahzad in their ranks. He is someone who can single-handedly win you games on his day, an opportunity many teams would love to have.

2. Shimron Hetmyer

Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots - 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Tournament

This young cricketer from Guyana caught the eye of the Indian fans in the recent tour of West Indies to India. Hetmyer's strong and consistent performances in the One dayers against an all-round Indian attack certainly put his name up there with the players of interest in the upcoming auctions.

Hetmyer was the U-19 world cup winning captain of the West Indies side, that won the trophy in 2016. In 17 ODIs, the 21 year old has scored 738 runs with a healthy average of 43, with the strike rate in excess of 100. In 5 T20 internationals, Hetmyer is yet to make a mark, but he has the ability and the penchant to take games away from oppositions in a matter of overs, a trait which should hold him in great stead in the upcoming IPL auctions.

His ability to score freely and manoeuvre the fields against the spinners with his effortless timings are attributes that add to his CV and, are sure to fetch him big bucks in the 2019 IPL auctions.

3. Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir's experience could come in handy.

He is a cricketer who needs no introduction. He made his International debut in the year 2008 and has played numerous match winning knocks for the country. Gambhir's innings in the T20 world cup final in 2007 (75 off 54) and the 50 over world cup final in 2011 (97 off 122) have been priceless ones, helping India lift the 2 world cups.

Gambhir started off his IPL journey with home side Delhi Daredevils, becoming the second highest run-scorer in the inaugural season scoring 534 runs in 14 games.

Come 2011, Gambhir began his new, rather the most successful IPL journey with Kolkata Knight Riders. He captained KKR from 2011-2017, leading the Bengal franchise to title glory in 2014 and 2016. He has not only excelled as a captain, but has been the top performer with the bat as well. In 154 games, he has above 4000 runs in his IPL career with an average of above 30.

Teams can certainly utilise the experience that Gambhir brings in along with his batting prowess. Regardless of an uncharacteristic season in 2018, he can be an asset to any side attributed to his experience and ability to anchor the innings.

4. Aiden Markram

Markram has looked solid at the top.

The Centurion born cricketer, Aiden Markram rose to fame when he led the South African U-19 team to world cup triumph in 2014. Markram scored two centuries in his first Three test matches in 2017, in the process becoming the first South African cricketer to achieve the feat.

In 12 Tests, he has 1040 runs to his name at an average of 47.27. In ODIs he is yet to score big, with only 320 runs in 13 games under his belt. He is the second youngest cricketer to captain South Africa, achieving the feat when he went on to lead the side in regular skipper Faf Du Plessis' absence.

Even though he is yet to begin his international T20 career, he has certainly made a mark in the cricketing cirlces. An astute brain on the cricket field, the young man has the abilty to take off from the word go and is also a brilliant fielder anywhere in the field.

Teams looking for a solid opener could well find their answers in Markram. In 2018, he went unsold with a base price of 50 lakhs INR, he would hope to get into some bidding war in 2019 auctions.

5. Sam Curran

England Media Access

This English all-rounder caught the eyes of the fans and opposition alike, during England's home series against India.

Curran displayed a fine all-round show, scoring 272 runs and picking up 11 Indian wickets in the series, winning the player of the series from England.

In 7 test mtches, he has scored 404 runs with 3 half centuries along with 14 wickets to his credit. In 49 first-class games, he has 132 wickets and close to 2000 runs under his belt. What stood out in his innings was his unbridled and cavalier approach and this should attract the franchises towards him.

Though it has been a fairly small career to judge any cricketer, Sam Curran has done quite a bit to impress at the big stage. He has shown his fearless, unperturbed character while batting, an argument ably supported by his counter attacking innings but filled textbook stroke-play. His big booming in-swingers, that skid onto the batsmen can be handy in death overs as well.

With elder brother Tom already playing for KKR, IPL could expect another addition from the Currans.