IPL 2018 Auction: 5 openers who could go for big money

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This year's IPL auctions are to be held at Bangalore on 27th and 28th January. Almost all the teams have retained their core players at the retention event which took place in Mumbai. Due to limitations on retentions, many star players have been released from their squads.

The salary cap of the franchisees has been increased to Rs. 80 crore, up from the previous year's amount of Rs. 66 crores. Franchisees would be looking to make the most of it by bidding over marquee players.

Virat Kohli was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore by paying a whopping 17 crore rupees. It is expected that some key players could cross that mark too.

Opening batsmen are the most important in this list of key players, especially in T20s. Here's a look at 5 opening batsmen who could go for big money.

Chris Gayle

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Chris Gayle is the only player in the IPL history to twice win the Orange Cap. He can contribute to the team with his astonishing long sixes and ability to score runs at a tremendous pace. Gayle holds the record for highest individual score in a T20 game, which is his knock of 175 runs against the Pune Warriors India in 2013.

When Royal Challengers Bangalore retained Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Sarfaraz Khan ahead of Chris Gayle, it turned to be a surprising move. They will be surely looking to bring back this Jamaican Batsman into the squad using their Right To Match card. Even other teams would be looking to strengthen their side by acquiring this player.

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