IPL 2019: 5 foreign players who could set the auction on fire
A total of 1003 players have registered themselves for the 2019 Indian Premier League auction, which is scheduled to happen on December 18 in Jaipur. A total of 232 overseas players have registered for the 20 overseas slots that are currently vacant.
Among the overseas players, 35 are from Australia, which does not include some of the prominent names like Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch, Mitchell Starc, and Pat Cummins. With 59 players, the highest number of overseas players registered are from South Africa while Afghanistan have 27 players registered.
However, the list will further be trimmed when franchises submit their wish-list on December 10. Some of the overseas players have been doing extremely well in the various T20 leagues across the globe and are expected to start a bidding war in the auction.
Without much ado, let’s take a look at the five overseas players who could set the auction on fire.
#5 Hardus Viljoen
Out of nowhere, Hardus Viljoen took the T10 League by storm this November. The tall fast bowler from South Africa picked up 18 wickets in the tournament from just 18 overs. He was brilliant throughout the tournament and finished as the top wicket-taker.
He averaged 7.7 with the ball and his strike rate was an unbelievable 6.0. The 29-year-old seamer possesses a brutal bouncer and is tailor-made for the limited-overs cricket. He can bowl well with the new ball and also in the death overs.
Despite an excellent record in the domestic cricket, Viljoen could not make it big for South Africa in the international arena. Viljoen has played only one Test match in his career and later signed the Kolpak deal in 2016. With many international seamers not available because of the 2019 World Cup, Viljoen could be in demand.