Hyderabad: The reason behind the success of the Indian Premier League is that it gives opportunities to aspiring young cricket talents to showcase their skills on a platform against or alongside well-established cricketers in the world.
332 players will be in the fray for the 73 available spots across the eight IPL teams.
Of the 332, shortlisted from among the 997 players who registered, 186 are Indian, 143 overseas players and three from associate nations.
Two-time champion KKR have released some star players like Piyush Chawla and Robin Uthappa. Robin is the only Indian player with a base price of INR 1.5 crore.
So, let's have a look at some of India's top players who could attract big bids this year.
Robin Uthappa
Former KKR opener Robin Uthappa was in the Kolkatta team since 2014 when the side won the IPL for the second time. The right-hand batsman smashed 660 runs in that year and played a key role in team's triumph and now he has been released.
If there is one consistent Indian player in IPL after Suresh Raina then the Uthappa's name will surely come forward.
However, the 34-year-old had a poor run at the 2019 IPL as he could only manage to score 282 runs in 12 games at an average of 31.33, with just one fifty in the season. He will look to change the fortune this year.
With 4,411 runs in the league so far Robin is eighth in the list of highest run-getter. A career strike rate of 131.84 and a dogged approach at the top of the order, many franchises will like to get Uthappa in their side. A team like RCB who are in search of one top Indian opener will definitely go for him.
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. He was bought for Rs. 4.32 crore in 2019 IPL by KKR.
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. The leggy has contributed usefully in the two IPL victories for the Knight Riders and etched his name in the record books when he scored the winning runs in the 2014 version. His subtle control with the ball and intelligent use of the conditions make him a vital component of any team's attack.
Jaydev Unadkat
India's left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat has been the most unpredictable player while going into the IPL players' auction. Many time we have witnessed that despite getting signed off by experts, IPL teams have gotten into bidding wars to bag the services of Unadkat.
The IPL 2017 season was one of the best IPL years for Unadkat as he claimed 24 wickets from 12 matches for the Rising Pune Supergiant.
After a successful stint with RPS, Unadkat was bought for a very high salary by Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2018. However, he was not able to replicate his 2017 performance as he picked just11 wickets in 15 games.
Despite his poor performance in IPL 2018, RR bought him back for INR 8.4 crore at the auction after releasing him initially.
Virat Singh
Virat Singh is a top-order left-hand batsman which makes him an interesting prospect. Virat made his debut for the Jharkhand under-19s at the age of 14, in the 2012–13 edition of the Vinoo Mankad Trophy.
Virat Singh scored 343 runs in just 10 innings at an outstanding average of 57.16. Not just that but he struck the ball at 142.32 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He made three half-centuries, including an unbeaten 76 off 44 balls vs eventual champions Karnataka, showing his appetite for the big stage.
Virat also made his senior debut for East Zone later in the season and scored 54 runs in the final of the limited-overs Deodhar Trophy. This included a 135-run third-wicket partnership, with East Zone going on to win the final by 24 runs, its first Deodhar Trophy since the 2003–04 season.
In October 2019, he was named in India C's squad for the 2019–20 Deodhar Trophy.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Mumbai teenager Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his way into the record books by becoming the youngest player to score a List-A double century. With this knock, he caught the eyes of IPL team owner.
The left-hand batsman has smashed 25 sixes in six Vijay Hazare Trophy matches this season. T20 is game of big hitters and looking at Yashasvi's big-hitting capacity, he can be in top buys of the season.
