3 players from ₹75 lakh bracket who might go unsold at the IPL 2024 auction
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction will be held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on December 19. While 1,166 players had initially registered for the 2024 auction, the final list has been pruned down to 333 names. A total of 77 slots are available to be filled up by the 10 franchises, with 30 of them being for overseas players.
Out of the 300-plus players who are part of the final auction pool, 214 are Indian players while 119 are overseas cricketers, with two of them belonging to associate nations. There are as many as 116 capped and 215 uncapped players in the auction list as well as the two cricketers from associate nations - David Wiese (Namibia) and Paul van Meekeren (Netherlands).
While 23 cricketers have registered their names in the highest base price category of ₹2 crore, there are 13 players in the auction list with a base price of ₹1.5 crore. Further, 14 players have set their reserve price at ₹1 crore even as 11 players feature in the ₹75 lakh category.
In this feature, we look at three players with a base price of ₹75 lakh who might go unsold at the IPL 2024 auction.
#1 Shai Hope
West Indies ODI captain Shai Hope is among the 11 players who have placed their names in the ₹75 lakh category for the IPL 2024 auction.
The 30-year-old was recently in the news when he slammed a brilliant hundred against England in an ODI at North Sound in Antigua. He followed it up with a half-century in the next game.
Hope, though, is not viewed as a proper T20 player. He has featured in only 22 matches for West Indies in the format, scoring 407 runs at an average of 21.42 and a strike rate of 126.
In his overall T20 career, he has played 89 games, scoring 2,105 runs at an average of 26.98 and a strike rate of 126.50 with one hundred and 10 fifties.
While Hope is a talented batter, he is not a destructive hitter of the cricket ball, something which is more or less of a prerequisite in the T20 format. And so, while Hope will hope to get picked at the IPL 2024 auction by one of the franchises, the chances of the same happening are, honestly, pretty low.
#2 Ollie Robinson
England pacer Ollie Robinson is another “non-T20 player” in the IPL 2024 auction list with a base price of ₹75 lakh.
The 30-year-old is a Test specialist, who has claimed 76 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of 22.21 with the aid of three five-wicket hauls. However, he has not played a single white-ball match for England thus far, a clear indication that he is not rated too highly as a limited-overs performer.
If we take a glance at Robinson’s T20 career, the right-arm pacer has picked up 45 wickets in 49 matches at an average of 29.02 and an economy rate of 8.86 with a strike rate of 19.6. He has one four-wicket haul to show for his efforts.
As a lower-order batter, he has contributed 92 runs at a strike rate of under 100, which is another aspect that goes against him in the T20 format.
It will be a big surprise if any of the franchises show any kind of interest in Robinson during the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai.
#3 Olly Stone
Another right-arm fast bowler from England, Olly Stone has also put up his name for the IPL 2024 auction for a base price of ₹75 lakh.
The 30-year-old has played only one T20I, which came against Pakistan in Karachi in September 2022. Stone did not have a memorable game, registering figures of 0/36 from four overs. He was later bowled for a golden duck by Haris Rauf.
In his overall T20 career, the pace bowler has featured in 67 matches and has claimed 67 wickets at an average of 27.62 and an economy rate of 8.73 with two four-wicket hauls.
Stone has produced decent T20 numbers, but these might not be enough to grab the attention of any of the IPL franchises.
He may be representing Melbourne Stars in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL). But it seems like his dream of featuring in the Indian Premier League might not be fulfilled in the upcoming season.