IPL 2022: Top performers from Vijay Hazare Trophy who can earn big in mega auction

The Indian Premier League is well known for the opportunity it provides for the youngsters, where it creates a bridge for the youngsters to meet the world-class players on a massive stage. It has been expounding the motto “Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi” since its inception.

The Indian domestic players will not get better recognition and exposure to learn from the bests of the world. Many players such as T Natarajan, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, etc. have made it to the national side with consideration of the IPL performance alone. The IPL mega auction for the year 2022 is scheduled to be held in the month of February.

Many young talents will get an opportunity to represent the IPL franchises. Players will be considered based on various factors and a major one of those would be their performance in the Vijay Hazare tournament which was held this year.

1. Rishi Dhawan

The tournament-winning skipper of Himachal Pradesh, Rishi Dhawan is undoubtedly the top name on this list. He was the most valuable player in the tournament. Hewas a part of some IPL franchises before and has also played a few international matches.

This 31-year-old player debuted in the inaugural edition of the IPL for Kings XI Punjab and has been a part of six editions. The last time he played the league was in 2017 for Kolkata Knight Riders and hasn’t attracted any bids since then. In this tournament, he was top-notch in all aspects and it is one of the best career years he has ever had.

This tall all-rounder was the second-highest run-scorer with 458 runs in just eight innings and had a strike rate of 127.22. He was also the second-highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets at an economy of just six. He would definitely attract huge bids as he was in a red-hot form and also has international experience.

2. Sharukh Khan

Most probably the player who would go for the maximum price on this list would be this Tamil Nadu’s explosive batter Sharukh Khan. One of the most weird decisions taken by the Punjab Kings franchise this year was not retaining him

Sharukh, in his first auction appearance itself, created a bidding war amongst the franchises and then got sold to Punjab Kings for a whopping amount of INR 5.25 crore. He then played 11 IPL matches and hit 153 runs with a strike rate of 134.21.

This youngster scored 253 runs in eight matches at a staggering strike rate of 186.02 and averaged 42.16 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He is a sheer finisher and is capable to hit sixes and boundaries without taking much time to get set at the crease. He hit 20 sixes which is the second-highest in the tournament.

3. Prerak Mankad

Prera Mankad is an all-rounder who can bowl right-arm-medium deliveries and is a good middle-order batter. He was the seventh-highest run-getter in the Vijay Hazare trophy.

The Saurashtrian hit 376 runs in just seven innings with a mind-blowing average and strike rate of 94.0 and 114.98 respectively. He won a few matches for the team and his century against Jharkhand was his best inning.

Mankad was also useful with the ball, as he took six wickets with an economy of 4.27. As the teams would be looking for a decent all-rounding option, Mankad would have pleased the selectors with his performance in the Vijay Hazare tournament.

4. KS Bharat

KS Bharat had an amazing 2021, as he debuted in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore and then after his blistering performance, he was then named in the Indian Test squad against New Zealand. Apart from his batting, he was impressive with his keeping skills too.

The wicketkeeping-batter averaged 38.20 and had a strike rate of 122.43 in the IPL and this stat for a debutant is much appreciable. He played a match-winning knock of 78* runs in the IPL against Delhi Capitals, while finishing the match with a six in the last ball.

This Andhra Pradesh player hit 370 runs in just five matches of the Vijay Hazare tournament and had an average of 92.50. He cleared the ropes on 15 occasions and had a strike rate of 108.18 and he hit two one-fifty plus scores and his highest of those was 161*.

5. Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal, the much-proved entity in all the levels of the game had a lean patch in recent times. He has been the backbone of the bowling unit of Royal Challengers Bangalore over the years but was not retained for the future as he had a rough time with the ball.

Chahal is an experienced leggie and is a match-winner. He made his IPL debut in 2013 and since 2014, he has played almost every single game for RCB. This player was released from the franchise solely for his bad wickets rate and for his high economy.

But, he made a comeback in this Vijay Hazare Trophy and has proved that the form is temporary and class is permanent. This Haryana lad was the sixth-highest wicket-taker with 14 wickets in just five matches and had an amazing economy of 4.35. The teams would be striving to pick this proficient leggie.

6. Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma is a left-handed batter and a slow-left-arm-orthodox bowler. He is a hard-hitting low-order batter and can bowl accurate left-arm spin like his senior Ravindra Jadeja.

This Punjab talent was well-known by the cricketing fraternity earlier and he made his debut for Delhi Capitals way back in 2018 at an age of 18. He bossed his entry into the IPL with an unbeaten 46 from just 19 deliveries. Later he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and after playing eight matches, he has hit 98 runs and has taken four wickets.

This 21-year youngster hit Vijay Hazare Trophy’s highest individual score (169* off just 117 balls) and in total, he scored 264 runs with an average and strike rate of 88.00 and 114.28. He was the highest run-getter on the team and he also took four wickets with an economy of 5.84.

7. Shivam Mavi

Shivam Mavi is a right-arm-fast-medium bowler who can bowl accurately at consistent speeds. He had astounding progress right after the Indian team won the U-19 World cup in 2018. He was then signed by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 and has played three seasons with them.

Mavi is now quite a famous name in the IPL circuit and has played 26 IPL matches till now and has 25 wickets under his name with an economy of 8.29.

The UP player had stunning stats with the ball in the Vijay Hazare Tournament, as he picked 15 wickets in seven matches with an economy of 4.38. He had two four-wicket hauls in the tournament. The IPL teams would need an express pace Indian bowling option and so they would wage a bidding war for him.

8. Washington Sundar

Tamil Nadu has produced some luminary cricketers over the years and Washington Sundar is a worthy mention of it. He was picked by the Royal Challengers Bangalore team in 2017 IPL and has been an integral part of the team since then.

Sundar, after featuring 42 IPL matches, has taken 27 wickets at a brilliant economy of 6.93. He has been handy with the bat too, as he has scored 217 runs at a strike rate of 111.28. He came back to the Vijay Hazare tournament after an injury and did his part to the fullest.

This 22-year-old all-rounder was the third-highest wicket-taker with 16 wickets in eight matches including a fifer. With the bat, he scored 177 runs in eight matches and his crucial 70 in the semi-finals guided the team to the finals. His comeback form after the injury would be happy news for the franchises and for him.

9. Prashant Chopra

Prashant Chopra is a 29-year-old opening batter of Himachal Pradesh who was a part of the 2012 U-19 World cup winning team of India. He was bought by Rajasthan Royals in 2018 and debuted for the team and was dropped after a match.

In 2019, he played a match but did not bat and then was out of contention. This 29-year-old batter was impressive in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as he became the third-highest scorer of the tournament.

Prashant hit 456 runs in just eight matches with five fifty-plus scores. He missed his century by just a run in the tournament. He hit 12 sixes and 41 boundaries and would get a chance to come back in the IPL teams who would be looking for a consistent opener.

10. Yash Thakur

Yash Thakur is a right-arm-medium pace bowler from Vidarbha. He features on this list for his 18 wickets in just seven matches which includes a fifer and four-wicket haul. Thakur is the highest wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare tournament.

This 22-year-old bowler had an astonishing average and economy of 20.00 and 5.72 respectively. He was attractive in the previously held T20-format Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as he took 11 wickets in just seven matches with an economy of 5.95. His current form would gain him a huge price in the auction.