IPL Auction 2021: 5 Indian Players who can start bidding war

Hardly a fortnight before the much awaited IPL Auction 2021 and teams must be going through their last round of preparations of blue-prints. We will continue our build-up to this mini-auction and after overseas stars, let’s take a look at some of domestic talents on offer in the list. In the recently concluded SMAT, there were many who appeared to be all set to bag IPL contracts but we will go through 5 most sought-after properties at the moment.

Shah Rukh Khan

After many years of being so close to an IPL contract, it is almost confirmed that Shah Rukh Khan will get one this year. A hard-hitting batsman from Tamil Nadu, he doesn’t get many opportunities to bat even in the first grade state team. But whatever opportunities he got this year, he did use those to a perfect effect. He struck at a SR of 212 in this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and his 40 off just 19 balls against Himachal Pradesh in the Quarter Finals helped Tamil Nadu to go through from almost an impossible situation. There are many IPL franchises that could do well to find an Indian finisher in the lower order, Shah Rukh Khan is well and truly in the mix this year.

Mohammed Azharuddeen

This young gun from Kerala announced himself in some style in the early stages of this year’s SMAT. He smashed the second-fastest century in SMAT history when he brought up the milestone in just 37 balls against Mumbai. This scintillating knock helped Kerala chase down a total of 197 pretty easily. His average was 53 throughout the tournament and was striking at 194 SR. Explosive opening batsman Mohammed Azharuddeen would be having a tough competition from overseas imports but teams like Rajasthan Royals are likely to invest in this young superstar.

Krishnappa Gowtham

Currently with Indian test setup for the series against England, Krishnappa Gowtham was one of the most expensive picks in the last auction. But after a poor season with Kings XI Punjab, he is again in the auction this year. He played 4 games for Karnataka this year in SMAT and performed decently with his off-spin. He can give full quota of overs with the ball and useful runs down the order with his batting. He was sort of underutilized by KXIP setup last year but likely to get more than just one bid in this year’s auction with his all-round capabilities.

Khrievitso Kense

We may see one of the biggest surprises in this year’s IPL auction in the form of this Nagaland leg-spinner. This 16-year-old prodigy made his T20 debut in recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy edition. He scalped 7 wickets from just 4 games with an impressive economy rate of 5.47 RPO. He has already created quite a demand for himself even before the auction. He has been called for trails for Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals after the SMAT. Looking at the unknown factor and a possible mystery, Khrievitso Kense is likely to get a contract for this season.

Piyush Chawla

Third highest wicket-taker in IPL history – Piyush Chawla will be searching for his fourth IPL team this year in IPL 2021 Auction. Chennai Super Kings bought him for INR 6.75 Cr last year keeping in mind Chepauk conditions but he had an indifferent season in UAE. He turned out to be costly with an economy of 9.09 RPO for the season and CSK had no other options but to release him. Meanwhile in SMAT playing for Gujarat, he continued to do well this year as well. With his experience and enough demand for leg-spinners in T20s, Piyush Chawla will be attracting a lot of attention in the upcoming auction at Chennai on February 18th.   

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