IPL 2019: 3 teams that should eye Alex Hales in the auction

The franchises for the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) recently released the complete list of retained and expelled players. All the teams, as the list suggests, are changing considerably from the last season, and will look to strike that perfect balance by picking useful players on the day of the auction, i.e., December 18.

One thing that will surely be in the minds of the franchise owners will be to get a hand on Alex Hales, the explosive English batsman. He has shown his destructive abilities on many occasions in the past, both in the international circuit as well as at the domestic level.

The 29-year-old’s most memorable T20 knock came against Sri Lanka a few years ago, in the World T20, when he scored a scintillating century and helped his team get over the line from an impossible position. Any IPL franchise that manages to add Hales to its arsenal will consider itself lucky.

Here are three teams, we think, should target Alex Hales in the upcoming auction:

3. Kolkata Knight Riders

Some may think, the Knights aren’t short of explosive batsmen, with the likes of Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine in the team. But the fact still remains that a top-level team can just not afford to depend on a part-time batsman to provide it with firepower. Narine is not a proper opening batsman, or even simply a proper batsman in the first place, so gambling with him again might give KKR the results they won’t want.

Hales’ addition to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp can have a huge impact on the tournament. The opening pair of Lynn and Hales can wreak havoc in all conditions, against all teams, without a shadow of doubt. So, it won’t be surprising if we see the Knights pushing their limits with the budget at the auction when Hales goes under the hammer.

2. Rajasthan Royals 

The Jaipur-based franchise already has players like Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer in its corner, but would still love to add Alex Hales to that list, keeping in mind the fact that T20 matches these days are mostly won due to explosive batting than economical bowling. With the likes of Rahane and Smith in the team to provide stability to that middle-order, one can absolutely not see a way out for the opposition if the hard-hitting trio clicks as well.

Hales and Buttler to open the innings and come out showing no mercy, Rahane at three, Smith at four and Ban Stokes to follow at five is the best line-up a team could ever have in the shortest format. Once this order becomes a reality, the likeliness of the Royals scoring 180+ runs in almost every innings will increase by a mile.

1. Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils have arguably been the most unsuccessful team in the decade-long history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, things seem all set to change in the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league, as Shikhar Dhawan has been traded-in by the Delhi-based team. But Dhawan alone, and understandably so, won’t be able to change things by much for the Daredevils, as cricket is a team game. He needs the perfect opening partner, and if Dhawan manages to get one, there are chances that he can not only turn the match on its head but the whole tournament as well.

As of now, Alex Hales is probably the best option Delhi have, with Gambhir and Jason Roy released by the team. Hales is a flexible opener and doesn’t take long to adjust himself in new conditions, so getting along with Dhawan shouldn’t be a problem. One would argue that they already have Prithvi Shaw to open and in that case, hales can also bat at three which he does for England in T20Is.

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