IPL 2022: Ben McDermott, Romario Shepherd eye maiden contracts in mega auction

All the 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise would be busy brainstorming with the mega auction for the 2022 event being around the corner. The teams are set to under massive revamps as the eight existing franchises were allowed to retain a maximum of four players ahead of the bidding event. On the other hand, the two new teams – Ahmedabad and Lucknow – have picked three players apiece from the draft.

With the tournament getting expanded, more players will get a chance to bag contracts. Australian batter Ben McDermott and West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd are among many eyeing a maiden IPL deal. The duo, who went unsold in the previous seasons of the lucrative T20 league, have been impressive lately and are aiming to showcase their skills in IPL as well.

McDermott, who plays for Hobart hurricanes, finished the league stage of the Big Bash League 2021-22 as the highest run-scorer. The dashing opener slammed 577 runs in 13 games with his average and strike rate being 48.08 and 153.87 respectively. His heroics saw him being voted as the Player of the Tournament. McDermott also earned a recall to Australia’s T20I side for the Sri Lanka series next month.

I’m excited for IPL 2022 auction: Ben McDermott

McDermott, who has played 17 T20Is and two ODIs for Australia, went unsold last season. However, he’s determined to feature in the competition this time around. “There’s not too much I can do now, it’s all up to those people in charge,” McDermott was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

“I’m excited. It’s always an exciting time to watch, I remember last year Riley Meredith Being raised for big bucks and seeing him in our hotel rooms in quarantine in New Zealand,” he added. Speaking of Romario Shepherd, the all-rounder recently slammed a 28-ball 44 in West Indies’ one-run defeat against England. He also took a wicket earlier in the game.

While Shepherd said he’s not too concerned about the auction, the all-rounder admitted featuring in IPL would be great. “Ultimately, if an IPL contract comes, it will be great for me. I’m not saying I don’t think about it – I do think about it, but I don’t think about it during a game I try to just focus on the game wherever it is and try to get myself out of a situation,” Shepherd was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.