Hyderabad: The fate of 332 cricketers will be decided in Kolkata on December 19 as they will be called out by the auctioneer at the IPL 2020 players' auction.
Apart from a few Indian players, there will be some overseas players who will be on top of every team's must-buy list.
Here's a look at a few such foreign players who can trigger a bidding war in the auction.
1. Pat Cummins (Base Price: Rs 2 crore)
Without a shadow of a doubt, Pat Cummins will be the most sought-after player heading into the auction. Cummins had last appeared in the IPL in 2017 for Delhi Daredevils where he claimed 15 wickets.
In 2018, an injury ruled Cummins out of action for Mumbai Indians and was released before the following year's auction. however, he opted against playing in IPL 2019 keeping 2019 World Cup in mind.
2. Glenn Maxwell (Base Price: Rs 2 crore)
After recovering from mental health issues, Glenn Maxwell will be hoping to get back to his very best. The 31-year-old has always been the most sought-after name in the IPL. His best performance came in the 2014 edition in which he amassed 552 runs in 16 matches to power Kings XI Punjab to the final.
Although he is presently inconsistent, yet his career strike rate of 154 will help him trigger a bidding war for himself.
3. Chris Lynn (Base Price: Rs 2 crore)
In a surprise, Kolkata Knight Riders released opener, Chris Lynn, after six seasons. Lynn has been a consistent performer for KKR in the past three seasons averaging 397 runs with a strike rate of 150.
In IPL 2019, Chris scored 405 runs at an average of 31.15 including four fifties. The Australian will head into the pool as one of the seven players with a base price of Rs. 2 crore and teams which don’t have experienced opening batsmen in their ranks will be queuing up to get their hands on him.
4. Shimron Hetmyer (Base Price: Rs 50 lakh)
Having recently got back to form with a match-winning knock of 139 against India in the first ODI, Hetmyer has alerted all franchises of his availability in the auction. Shimron had a poor outing with RCB last season and was consequently released by the Bangalore based franchise.
The Guyanese scored a mere 90 runs in five matches at a disappointing average of 18, including just one half-century. However, his recent performances will surely attract bidders for the hard-hitting southpaw.
5. Sam Curran (Base Price: Rs 1 crore)
English all-rounder Sam Curran was bought by Kings XI Punjab for a whopping Rs. 7.2 crore in last year's auction, however, he was this year released by the Punjab based outfit despite performing decently.
Last year, Curran claimed a hat-trick against Delhi Capitals. Having played nine matches, Curran picked up 10 wickets and scored 95 runs. Thus, Curran who happens to be a talented all-rounder will surely in the radar of multiple teams and is thus likely to initiate a bidding war amongst the franchises.
