IPL Auction 2022: 5 star players who might fail to attract big bids
The 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction is all set to be held in January. The IPL 2022 season will see the addition of two new franchises - Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
In October, the BCCI confirmed that the two owners of the new franchises - RPSG Ventures Ltd and Irelia Company Pte Ltd. (CVC Capital Partners). While RPSG won the Lucknow franchise for INR 7090 crore, CVC Capital Partners bagged the Ahmedabad franchise for INR 5625 crore.
A few days later, the organizers also announced the retention rules and salary purse details for IPL 2022. The BCCI confirmed that all eight current IPL teams can retain a maximum of four players (three Indians and one overseas player, or two Indians and two overseas players).
As for the new franchises, they can pick three players (two Indian players and one overseas player) before the IPL 2022 mega auction. The salary purse has been set at INR 90 crore per team.
IPL auction 2022: Big names who are unlikely to fare well
A number of star cricketers had a poor IPL 2021 season. Considering their form and age factor, they are unlikely to attract major bids at the IPL auction 2022. Take a look:
#1 Chris Gayle
West Indies legend Chris Gayle recently made a statement on his possible retirement when he tweeted the words “I Ain't Leaving”. However, his recent batting form suggests that despite being a big name, he is unlikely to get a high bid at the IPL.
Like most of the other West Indians, Gayle too had a disastrous T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. He ended the ICC event with a highest score of 15 as West Indies crashed out at the end of the Super 12 round. The "Universe Boss" had a disappointing IPL 2021 campaign as well, scoring 193 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 125.32.
The 42-year-old gave proof that his hunger for runs is still alive by clobbering an unbeaten 49 off 23 for Team Abu Dhabi against Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10. However, even an impressive T10 might not be enough for Gayle to win a handsome IPL contract. Franchises are likely to view shelling too much on him as a risk.
#2 Suresh Raina
Former India batter Suresh Raina was part of the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) title-winning IPL 2021 campaign. However, his contribution in the victory was negligible. He managed just 160 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 125. His only significant knock came in the franchise’s first match of the IPL season, when he scored 54 off 36 against the Delhi Capitals (DC).
Raina received a lot of brickbats for his embarrassing batting effort against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the second half of IPL 2021. He was given a working-over by MI pacers and looked at all sea against the short ball, which has been his Achilles’ heel right through his playing career. Former South African pacer Dale Steyn went to the extent of stating that Raina looked like a school-boy cricketer.
Brilliant tactics on display for that Raina wicket 🤩
Welcomed him with a few short balls, set him up for a few more & then bowled full for which the CSK batter took the bait. 🙌
#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 #CSKvMI twitter.com/mipaltan/statu…
The CSK legend will turn 35 towards the end of the month. He looks well past his prime, having retired from international cricket. It doesn’t seem like franchises will show a lot of interest in Raina at the IPL auction 2022.