3 teams that could target Eoin Morgan at IPL 2022 Auction
Eoin Morgan raised eyebrows due to his poor form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last season. But he silenced his critics somewhat as he captained the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL 2021 final, where they lost to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Morgan, however, was not retained by KKR ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, which is set to take place on February 12 and February 13 in Bengaluru.
KKR opted to retain Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer and Varun Chakravarthy.
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With all four retentions used up, KKR will have ₹48 crore to spend at the auction.
While Morgan has established himself as one of the major factors behind England's white-ball resurgence, helping them win the 2019 ODI World Cup, he has never quite played as per the expectations in the IPL.
While he averages 28.90 with a strike rate of 137.64 in T20Is, in the IPL, the southpaw strikes at just 122.60 and averages a meager 22.66.
Despite taking over the KKR captaincy from Dinesh Karthik midway through IPL 2020, the Englishman was unable to find the kind of form he and the franchise would have hoped for.
However, Morgan is bound to generate some demand, even if he does not go for a huge sum at the upcoming auction.
On that note, here are three teams that may target Eoin Morgan at the IPL 2022 Auction:
#1 Kolkata Knight Riders
As Eoin Morgan led KKR to the IPL 2021 final, the franchise is bound to try and get the left-hander back at the auction.
They likely released him as it would have been harder to sign the four players they retained at IPL Auction 2022.
Morgan's aggressive and innovative style of captaincy is a good fit for KKR, who may want to give him another chance to lead after a successful IPL 2021 campaign.
#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore
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With AB de Villiers announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket, it leaves an overseas middle-order slot empty for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
de Villiers batted lower down the order as a finisher over the last few seasons, and the RCB may look to the England limited-overs captain to fill that role in the coming years.
Glenn Maxwell, who had a relatively poor record in the IPL prior to 2021, joined the RCB last season and found his touch, smashing 513 runs.
RCB may hope that Morgan goes through a similar turnaround and finds his form if they are able to snap him up at the auction.
With Virat Kohli having stepped down from the captaincy as well, Morgan would also offer a good leadership option.
#3 Punjab Kings
Here's the @PunjabKingsIPL retention list 👍
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Punjab Kings (PBKS) will go through a major overhaul, having retained only two players in Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh.
KL Rahul, who was their talismanic captain and a maverick batter, was not retained, leaving a void in PBKS' batting unit as well as their leadership role.
Punjab may be tempted to go for Eoin Morgan at the upcoming auction as he can provide solutions to both problems.
Morgan's experience may also help PBKS build a new team capable of challenging for a top-four finish.
If the Punjab Kings continue to be a top-heavy team like they have been in the past, it would also take some pressure off Morgan and allow him to play more freely in the middle order.