Hyderabad:The 13th season of the much-talked-about Indian Premier League is just around the corner. And ahead of the auction, here is the list of top five spinners who could start a bidding war among the teams in the auction.
On Thursday, over 300 cricketers will go under the hammer by the auctioneer at the IPL 2020 players' auction in Kolkata.
In the last 12 editions of the mega T20 event, IPL has proven to be a top platform for spinners across the globe to prove their worth.
Over the years, Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan, West Indies' Sunil Narine and South Africa's Imran Tahir have become integral members of their respective franchises as they have proven themself to be a match-winner.
Here are five spinners who might start bidding wars among IPL teams in the auction:
Tabraiz Shamsi
After Imran Tahir's retirement from South Africa national team from Test and ODIs, Tabraiz Shamsi has become the rainbow nation's frontline spinner in the given formats.
However, Shamsi is still the second fiddle in South Africa's T20 team as Tahir is yet to retire from the shortest format of the game.
Even though he is not South Africa's top choice spinner in T20Is, he is still counted as one of the best spinners in the modern age.
Being a left-arm wrist-spinner provides Shamsi an edge when it comes variety. In the just-concluded Mzansi Super League, Shamsi ended as the second-highest wicket-taker.
He bagged 16 wickets from just 10 matches.
Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla, a veteran of 157 IPL matches, has 150 wickets under his belt at an economy rate of 7.82 and will go under the hammer at a base price of Rs. 1 crore.
Chawla was part of Kolkata Knight Riders in the last season of Indian Premier League and ahead of the auction, KKR have released him.
Even though Chawala is no longer part of Indian national squad, he can be crucial for any IPL team, as the cricket pitches in the country support spinners, that is looking to take the trophy home.
In Chawal, IPL teams can get a world-class spinner as well as a mentor for young talents.
Nathan Lyon