Pakistan-born Hong Kong cricketer Nizakat Khan will prove to be a big miss for IPL teams

India’s biggest cricketing event in the calendar year, the Indian Premier League (IPL) got underway with the player auction last month. The 2-day action-filled event witnessed some intense bidding wars as the franchises left no stones unturned in their bid to acquire their desired players. With an increase in the total salary cap, the mega-event turned out to be a tremendous success as the teams did not shy away from spending big.

While there were some heavyweights who bagged lucrative deals, it was actually more interesting to see the teams battle it out for the newbies. IPL, since its induction had the sole purpose of unearthing promising talents from every corner of the globe. And till now, the league has provided a plethora of quality players who have gone on to enrich their respective national teams.

The uncapped players stole the show in the recently concluded auction. Players like Shubman Gill, Jofra Archer went for almost 10 times their base price. However, the absence of Pakistan-born all-rounder Nizakat Khan in the auction list will certainly be a huge miss of this edition.

The 25-year-old could have been a real key addition to any of the eight teams in IPL 2018 had he featured in the auction. Not only a big hitter, Nizakat is also a decent turner of the ball and would have contributed in both the departments.

Nizakat stole the limelight in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz

The exciting all-rounder, who plays for the Hong Kong cricket team, was the star of the Hong Kong T20 Blitz 2018 final as the Jaguars beat the Gladiators on Sunday. Nizakat took the attention off Gladiators’ star player and Sri Lanka veteran Kumar Sangakkara in the match as the Hung Hom Jaguars won by 6 runs.

The prolific right-hander, who last played a T20 International match in January 2017, blasted 93 runs (6×6, 4×8) off 52 balls to emerge the star player of the final.