The BCCI has just recently released the list of players who have registered in IPL 2022’s Mega Auction and it is quite a big one. As we all know, the Indian Premier League has transformed into this huge money making machine for players across the globe and no one wants to be left out.
Although the list shall be filtered further by BCCI before they release the final list, the base price range and the big names have already been revealed and the 10 franchises will start making their plans accordingly.
The base price range that the franchises and even the fans are most excited for, is undoubtedly the maximum set, i.e, the 2 Crore base price players. It contains the best players who will be up in the Auction and the franchises will look to acquire as many of these players as possible.
The 2 Crore Base Price set includes the following players:-
Indian players: R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Ishan Kishan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Devdutt Padikkal, Krunal Pandya, Harshal Patel, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Robin Uthappa, Umesh Yadav
Overseas players: Mujeeb Zadran, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Sam Billings, Sagib Mahmood, Chris Jordan, Craig Overton, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, Faf du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis, Odean Smith.
However, many out of these players might be considered by many to be highly ‘overpriced’ and might go unsold as well. It is thus important to figure out the most important players out of this set and focus on them solely in the Auction.
In this article, we shall be discussing Top 5 players from the maximum price bracket. These are the players that have the highest possibility of earning big bucks in IPL 2022’s Mega Auction.
Let’s take a look at those 5 players:-
1. Ishan Kishan – There were initially strong rumors that Ishan Kishan will be drafted by one of the two new teams but after further consideration, none of them picked him. The 23 year old Wicketkeeper-batsman will thus be heading on to the Mega Auction and he will definitely be on the list of all the franchises, especially the ones at the lookout for Wicketkeepers. Ishan Kishan scored 241 runs in 10 matches in IPL 2021 and was particularly in great form during the last few matches. He has also been consistently very well with the Indian national team in the shortest format recently.
2. Shardul Thakur – The former CSK star is undoubtedly the most sought after player in recent days. He has been Team India’s go to player in all the formats and when it comes to giving breakthroughs to his team, Shardul Thakur always comes handy. He has recently developed a reputation as an all-rounder which is a great addition to his IPL resume. Shardul Thakur picked up 21 wickets in 16 matches in IPL 2021. He has great chances of becoming the most expensive player in IPL 2022.
Although Shardul Thakur is yet to portray his batting skills in the IPL, he can do so this year as he has mastered his skills in the last one year and can even very well be considered an all rounder now. His former side Chennai Super Kings will try hard to get him back.
3. Shreyas Iyer – Shreyas Iyer wants to get his captaincy role back and that was exactly why he refused to be drafted by the 2 new IPL franchises (as they could not offer him the captaincy role). Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy record in IPL with Delhi Capitals is indeed impressive and he can be bought by the franchises that are without any captain – like KKR, RCB and Punjab Kings. It is true that Shreyas Iyer was unavailable for almost the entirety of IPL 2021 but his batting abilities can never be doubted. In the last IPL he played, i.e, in IPL 2020, he scored 519 runs in 17 matches which was his best year ever.
Shreyas Iyer recently made his Test debut with the Indian national team against New Zealand and he was simply phenomenal in it. He has regained his form and is ready for the challenge in the 2022 IPL.
4. David Warner – Former SRH captain David Warner left the club last season after a tussle with the management. Although it was surprising that he was not picked up in Drafts by any of the two new franchises, it is a blessing in disguise for the other teams as he will now be available in the Mega Auction. Like Shreyas Iyer, David Warner will also be targeted by teams that are without a captain. However the Aussie opener does not have a problem even if he is not given captaincy by his franchise. David Warner is an absolute legend in the Indian Premier League and he is the highest overseas run scorer in the tournament’s history. He has scored 5449 runs in all seasons combined.
David Warner’s performance in the T20 World Cup 2021 was commendable too. After a rough patch in the last IPL season, Warner regained his form in the World Cup and led his team to glory. He even Won the Man of the Tournament award.
5. Pat Cummins – Pat Cummins was unable to play the second half of IPL 2021 due to personal reasons but in the few matches that he played in the first half, he was invincible. He picked up 9 wickets in 7 matches last season and has picked up 38 wickets in all his seasons combined. Pat Cummins is also blessed with big hitting with the bat if his team requires it and even last year he won a thrilling match for KKR with his pinch hitting.
Pat was recently made the captain of the Australian test teams and he is going through the best years in his career. He has a lot more to offer in the shorter format for years to come and any team will be more than willing to give any amount to bring him in their squad in IPL 2022’s Mega auction. After all, Pat Cummins is the second most expensive player to be sold in IPL Auction history (15.5 Crore by KKR) and he knows how to attract rich suitors. We can easily expect a 10 Crore plus price tag for him this year too.
Also Read:- Updated Squad list for all 10 Teams and Strategy for Mega Auctions