IPL 2021: 3 Teams that can pick Mustafizur Rahman in the auction

The IPL 2021 auction list was released on the 11th of February and with less than a week left for the event, the excitement levels are building up. A total of 292 players have been included in the shortlist and 10 players have listed themselves at the maximum base price of Rs. 2 crores including the likes of Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, and Harbhajan Singh.

Mustafizur Rahman is among the 292 players in the final list and he has listed himself at Rs. 1 crore. He will be a part of the first set of fast bowlers and is expected to draw a few bids. He was a key part of SRH’s title-winning team in 2016 and even won the emerging player of the year award that season. He has 24 wickets in 24 IPL games at a strike-rate of 22.79 while conceding at 7.51.

In general, he has picked up 162 wickets in 121 T20s at a stunning strike-rate of 16.7, and his economy rate of 7.23 is excellent for someone who predominantly bowls during the tough overs. There are several teams that will look to buy a pacer on the 18th of February.

Here’s a look at 3 such teams that might go after Mustafizur Rahman in the IPL auction:

1. Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB finished 4th last season, and it was largely due to their batting might. Their bowling was highly inconsistent, and Yuzvendra Chahal was their only bowler to have picked up more than 11 wickets. Chris Morris was also pretty good for them in the 9 games he played, but they have surprisingly released him.

They have retained Kane Richardson after he was unavailable last season. The Royal Challengers have also traded in Daniel Sams and Harshal Patel from the Delhi Capitals. However, none of their fast bowlers are capable of leading a bowling attack at present.

Mustafizur Rahman is one of the better options in the market and in the absence of Starc, the demand for him is only going to increase. Death bowling hasn’t been RCB’s strongest area and after releasing Morris, they certainly need some reinforcements. The ‘Fizz’ is excellent at the death. He has a wide range of slower balls up his sleeve and bowls a pretty good yorker, and RCB should have him on their shortlist.