IPL auction 2020: Predicting the top 5 buys

After a long and exciting build-up, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 auction is all set to be held for the first time in Kolkata tomorrow. After the list of 971 players was pruned down following the short-list by the eight franchises, 332 players have made the cut for the auction.

The final list features 186 Indian players, 143 foreign players and three from associate nations. Seven players, all overseas, have listed their name for the auction at the highest base price of ₹2 crore. Five of those are Australians - Pat Cummins, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood.

Among Indians, Robin Uthappa, who was released by Kolkata Knight Riders, has a base price of ₹1.5 crore while Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan and Jaydev Unadkat will enter the auction featuring in the ₹1 crore bracket.

Before the action kicks off, we look at five players who could be among the Top 5 buys at the auction.

#1 Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn, who was surprisingly released by Kolkata Knight Riders despite scoring 405 runs in 13 games at a strike rate of 139.65 with four fifties in IPL 2019, is back in the auction pool at a base price of ₹2 crore. Even in the 2018 season he was in good form, scoring 491 runs at a strike rate of 130.23.

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As if to prove a point, Lynn smashed a record highest score of 91 not out off 30 balls in the Abu Dhabi T10 league, which led Yuvraj Singh to comment that KKR had made a mistake by releasing him. In fact, Lynn finished as the top run-scorer in the T10 league with 371 runs in eight matches at a strike-rate of 236.30, with four fifties.

Given his credentials in different leagues across the world, It is highly likely that he will walk away with a hefty price at the auction.