IPL 2022 auction: 3 teams that will target Evin Lewis
West Indies opener Evin Lewis has established himself as one of the premier T20 openers in world cricket. He has scored 5518 runs in 192 matches at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 145 - a staggering record that is among the best in the world.
Evin Lewis has represented the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. He made his debut in the competition back in 2018 and scored 581 runs in 21 matches at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 138. Evin Lewis played five matches for Rajasthan last season in the UAE leg - scoring 151 runs at an average of 30 and a strike rate of 162.
The IPL is likely to be hosted in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai according to reports. Therefore, teams are expected to play quite a few matches at the Wankhede. Lewis has scored 231 runs in eight outings at a strike rate of 141 at the famous stadium.
Evin Lewis is a very lucrative opening option for IPL franchises and he will be on the radar of a number of teams at the upcoming mega-auction in February. He has set a base price of 2 crores. We look at three franchises that may look to sign Lewis ahead of the upcoming season.
#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore
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Royal Challengers Bangalore have retained three players - Virat Kohli (15 crores), Glenn Maxwell (11 crores) and Mohammad Siraj (7 crores).
South African star cricketer AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all formats of cricket in November last year. Bangalore will be looking to fill de Villiers' place by signing some quality cricketers.
Virat Kohli is likely to be Bangalore's first-choice opener in this edition of the IPL. He opened with Karnataka left-hander Devdutt Padikkal last season, who has been released by the team management.
With Evin Lewis at the top and Kohli who has been aggressive in the powerplay, RCB can definitely look to make a strong start to their innings. Other openers like David Warner, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow will be in high demand at the mega-auction. So signing Evin Lewis might work out really well for the Bangalore-based franchise.
#2 Mumbai Indians
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The Mumbai Indians have retained four players - Rohit Sharma (16 crores), Jasprit Bumrah (12 crores), Suryakumar Yadav (8 crores) and Kieron Pollard (6 crores). They are the most successful franchise in the tournament's history and have managed to retain their core players.
Captain Rohit Sharma will be the first-choice opener for the Mumbai Indians. The side had the services of Quinton de Kock for the last three seasons. They have followed the template of Rohit Sharma's opening with an aggressive foreign opener quite successfully over the years. This makes Evin Lewis the perfect opening partner for Sharma.
Evin Lewis has also been a part of the Mumbai Indians set-up in the past. He scored 430 runs in 16 matches for them in the 2018-19 season. Although Mumbai might certainly try and buy back Quinton de Kock, they will face competition for the player during the auction. Signing Lewis might be the smarter option as he will be a less-expensive alternative.
#1 Ahmedabad franchise
The Ahmedabad franchise has picked three players in the draft - Hardik Pandya (15 crores), Rashid Khan (15 crores) and Shubman Gill (8 crores). The upcoming mega-auction will be extremely crucial for them since it's their first chance to build a team that does well for the next 3-4 years.
Shubman Gill is expected to open the batting for Ahmedabad. If he is paired with Evin Lewis, Gill can take his time to settle down and play the anchor role while his partner can take on the bowling in the powerplay overs.
Ahmedabad will be interested in signing overseas openers at the IPL auction and Lewis is definitely one of the best picks on offer.