IPL 2020 Auction: 5 uncapped players who can start a bidding war

All the Indian Premier League followers around the nation are excited for the IPL 2020 Auction to take place in the city of joy, Kolkata on December 19th 2019. And the reason to be so excited for these auctions is not just the attraction of international cricketing stars but it is about the young sensations of Indian domestic cricket who are going to rock the upcoming auctions.

In the 2019 Vijay Hazare Trophy (ODI) and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20), many young and budding cricketing stars around India participated and showcased their imperious talent with both bat and ball. Also, there are some foreign youngsters and veterans who still haven’t got an opportunity to represent their nation but have been impressive in the T20 leagues around the world.

In this article, we will look into those cricketers who are yet uncapped but have a massive potential to show their talent on the biggest stage of T20 cricket, the IPL.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (India)

The talk of the town, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been on a sensational spree in the Indian domestic circuit over the past year. He is the new Under-19 sensation from India who might have a bright future ahead of him in the national colours. At only 17 years of age, he has managed to make headlines in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy in which he broke several records.

In the same tournament against Jharkhand, Jaiswal slammed a double century showing his batting prowess at such a young age. He broke the 45-year long record of South African Alan Barrow, aged 20, who had scored an unbeaten 202 for provincial side Natal way back in 1975. Jaiswal became the youngest to score a List A double ton in the history of cricket.

There are few sides in the IPL like Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders who are short of a young quality opening batsman. And this Mumbai lad might be the answer which they are looking for in the upcoming auction. Being a left-hander, Jaiswal has another advantage which can allow a T20 side to field a tried and tested left-hand right-hand opening combination.

Chris Green (Australia)

Chris Green, the bowling all-rounder from Australia with zero experience in first-class cricket could bag a handsome deal in the upcoming IPL auctions which are going to take place in Kolkata in a few days. Don’t be surprised if the lad starts a bidding war in a couple of franchises when his name pops up from the players’ name bucket.

Green has performed everywhere around the globe whether it is his home tournament Big Bash League (BBL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL) or most recently the Abu Dhabi T10 League. Although Green is not a genuine wicket-taking bowler, he does have accuracy in line and lengths. His economy rates are appreciable in the shortest format of the game and this ability of his could attract many.

With over 75 T20 matches under his belt in the last few years, he has picked up 62 wickets with an amazing economy of 6.7 runs per over. Some teams could pick this guy as they play on batting-friendly pitches all the time on their home grounds like Mumbai Indians or Royal Challengers Bangalore who would like an economical spin bowler in their kitty if things go awry for their frontline bowlers.

R Sai Kishore (India)

The leading wicket-taker of the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the spinning star of Tamil Nadu, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore has taken media and the cricketing world by storm. He has been so good in the tournament that people are expecting him to be one of the highest earners in the upcoming IPL auction.

Sai Kishore’s left-arm orthodox spin bowling does look a lot simpler when you see him bowl but it is his precision with which he bowls earns him rewards. His stats in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy are mind-blowing. He has taken 20 wickets in just 12 matches with a brilliant average of only 10.4 with an extraordinary economy of 4.6. Would you believe it? This type of economy on relatively batting friendly Indian pitches in T20 games.

Sides who do not have a frontline left-arm spinner in their side will surely try to target this youngster when his name comes under the hammer in the auction. Right now, all the sides are well settled as far as their spinning department is concerned but who will not like to have an in-form young Indian domestic spinner in their squad who has just performed so brilliantly?

Laurie Evans (England)

The right-handed power hitter from England has primed late in his cricketing career. At the age of 29, he came into the limelight for the first time in 2018 when he lit up the Vitality T20 Blast which is a franchise-based T20 tournament which takes place in England every year. He racked up 614 runs in 14 matches with a healthy strike rate of 136 and an outstanding average of over 68. He was also the highest run-scorer that year.

People thought that Evans will be a one-season wonder as he has primed after entering 30s. But he had some other ideas in his kitty, he had another successful season in the same tournament this year scoring 358 runs in 13 matches at an impressive average of 45. After these back to back performances, his reputation has grown in the T20 leagues around the globe and as a result, he has played almost all the leagues in the last two years.

Evans has already got himself secured contracts in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Pakistan Super League (PSL), Afghanistan Premier League (APL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and even the recently concluded Abu Dhabi T10 League. And the fact that he has performed everywhere will surely attract a few IPL franchise to at least give him a try. And if this year’s auction holds some surprises like the previous editions, we might see a bidding war to sign Evans for the upcoming season of IPL.

Ganeshan Periyasamy (India)

Nowadays there are many state-level T20 leagues are taking place in India and they are producing some exciting talents over the past couple of years with the likes of Shivam Dube (T20 Mumbai), Varun Chakravarthy (Tamil Nadu Premier League), T Natarajan (Tamil Nadu Premier League) to name a few. This year the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) has produced another gem of a fast bowler named Ganeshan Periyasamy.

In the latest edition of the TNPL, Periyasamy was the leading wicket-taker and also grabbed a precious five-wicket haul in the final match of the tournament. This shows his temperament to perform well in a pressured and crunched final game. Overall, he took 21 wickets in the tournament which is the highest ever in a single edition the history of the competition.

If you look at the slingy action of Periyasamy, it is very difficult to pick for a regular batsman. He reminds us of the great Lasith Malinga of Mumbai Indians with his pinpoint Yorkers coupled with his slingy action. He can be the biggest X factor for whichever team he plays because of this unusualness. He will surely attract several teams in the upcoming auction when his name will go under the hammer.

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