IPL 2021: 5 players who could spark bidding wars
The 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction will see eight teams with very different strategies aim to build the best squad. While the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) retained their core, franchises like Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) have released some big names and have the purse to start a bidding war.
The types of players who all teams are typically desperate for include capped Indian seamers, overseas seam-bowling all-rounders and pinch-hitters. As Chennai Super Kings (CSK) showed on occasion in 2018 and 2019, experience can lift a team, so expect a few old horses to attract big bids. Here are five players who could spark bidding wars in the upcoming IPL auction.
#5 Piyush Chawla (IPL 2020: CSK)
Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat leg-spinner Piyush Chawla is one of the behemoths of the IPL - having played every season thus far, he has accumulated 156 wickets to his name at a decent economy of 7.87. His IPL career prior to 2020 was one of two halves, with a significant and successful chunk of it spent with the Kings XI Punjab, and a less fruitful but still long stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He memorably scored the tournament-winning runs for the Knight Riders in IPL 2014 as well.
However, Chawla's IPL 2020 with the Chennai Super Kings was below par, in a bowling attack that struggled to make an impact on the tournament. Thus, while the Yellow Army would not seek his services, he is available for a host of franchises looking for an experienced wrist-spinner who can also hit a few into the crowd - and with a solid record in the tournament overall, Chawla has shown his consistency over a long period of time.
#4 Chris Morris (IPL 2020: RCB)
Lanky South African pace-bowling all-rounder Chris Morris was one of the costliest buys of the IPL 2020 auction, for an ability to hit 140+ kmph with the ball, and change the game with bat in hand. Though he joined the party late in the season for RCB, his bowling made impact, as he picked up eleven wickets from nine games, to go with a batting strike rate over 160 in his limited opportunities.
This IPL, a number of teams would be on the lookout for pace-bowling all-rounders - such as the Kings XI Punjab, who have released Jimmy Neesham, and Mumbai Indians who let go of Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Pattinson. The woeful Chennai Super Kings bowling attack could also do with some teeth - thus Morris looks likely to demand attention in the auction.