5 stars from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy who could go for big bucks in the IPL auction
The Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy was a high-profile domestic T20 tournament this year. The tournament was also a platform for the country’s cricketers to get into the groove before the Indian Premier League (IPL) which starts from April 5.
While some failed to shine, some with their brilliant performances in the tourney got themselves in the IPL auction scheduled for February 20th in Bengaluru.
Someone like a Gautam Gambhir who has been retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders came good with the bat, but there were quite a few who put in brilliant performances in the tournament but have not been retained by their IPL franchises.
These players are sure to attract a lot of bidders when they go under the hammer in Monday’s auction.
Let us look at the top 5 players from the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy who might go for big bucks.
#5 Irfan Pathan
Though he is not the pacy swing bowler that he used to be in his 20s, Irfan is a wily old veteran. He knows his limitations and therefore doesn’t try too fancy with the ball or the bat.
He did not start off well in the tournament as he picked up 1/39 and scored just 4 with the bat against Central Zone. But in the next game against West Zone, he bounced back into form and cleaned up the likes of the dangerous Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Yuvraj Singh.
As a result of his spell of 3/10, West Zone only managed to score 107, which was quite easily chased down by Pathan’s side.
In the next game against South Zone, Pathan scored 26 with the bat to help his side get to a respectable total of 141. But then he could not help his side win the game.
Though many would say he has had an average outing in the games as his figures suggest, Pathan was unlucky at times. He deserved a lot more wickets for his efforts with the leather.
We are quite sure the various franchises have followed him with great interest and it will be interesting to see if there will be a bidding war to rope him in.