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On 27 and 28 January in Bengaluru, 578 players – 62 capped Indians, 298 uncapped Indian cricketers, 182 capped overseas cricketers, 34 uncapped overseas players and 2 cricketers from Associate Nations will be up for grabs in the mega Indian Premier League auction.
India’s biggest stars – MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been retained by Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. But the other big guns such as Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir are awaiting to know which team will take them.
Here’s a look at the 10 capped Indian players who are likely to attract a bidding war in the IPL 2018 auction.
Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan may have struggled in the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town, but he has been a lion in Indian conditions. He scored 100* and 68 in the second and third ODIs against Sri Lanka and also notched 80 runs in the first T20 against New Zealand.
The 32-year-old had a terrific IPL season last year as well. Dhawan scored 479 runs in 14 matches at an average of 36.84.
Dhawan has forged a great opening partnership with David Warner for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last four seasons. The Hyderabad team will certainly look to take Dhawan back in the auction.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal has been a vital leg-spinner for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, since he joined them in 2014. Chahal had an amazing 2017 with the Indian team as well. The 27-year-old picked up 21 wickets in 14 ODIs and 23 wickets in 11 T20s.
Chahal, who has taken 70 wickets in 56 IPL matches, grabbed 14 wickets in 13 matches in the last season. The leg-spinner has been a go-to man for Virat Kohli, every time he’s looking for wickets.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore will certainly be looking to poach him back, especially considering the amount he has grown as an international cricketer last year.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin was dropped from the ODI and T20 squad after the tour of West Indies last year, but the Chennai Super Kings and the rest of the franchises will surely be vying for the Tamil Nadu bowler.
Ashwin, who missed the last season for the Rising Pune Supergiant due to an injury, has an excellent record in the IPL. He played 7 seasons for CSK before joining RPS in 2016.
The 31-year-old has taken 100 wickets in 111 IPL matches at an average of 25.00. MS Dhoni made it very clear in a press conference that Chennai want Ashwin back in their camp for the upcoming season.
Gautam Gambhir
The Kolkata Knight Riders surprised most fans when they decided to not retain their captain Gautam Gambhir during the retentions event. Gambhir is going under the hammer with good form in the Ranji Trophy.
The Delhi batsman finished as the sixth highest scorer in the last Ranji Trophy season with 683 runs at an average of 56.91. Gambhir scored 2 centuries and 3 half-centuries in the competition.
The 36-year-old, who has led Kolkata to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, had an amazing season last year. He scored 498 runs in 16 matches at an average of 41.50.
Will Kolkata use their Right-to-Match Card for Gambhir? We’ll have to wait and see.
Jaydev Unadkat
Jaydev Unadkat could be the dark horse in the IPL auction this year. He rocked last year’s IPL season with Rising Pune Supergiant, picking up 24 wickets in 12 matches. He finished as the second highest wicket-taker in the season, behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
To add to his list of credentials, Unadkat also picked up a hat-trick against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last season. The 26-year-old pulled off a a triple-wicket maiden over in the last over of the match. The fast bowler had to defend 13 runs.
Unadkat was also drafted in the Indian T20 team for the three-match series against Sri Lanka last year. The fast bowler took 4 wickets in the series.
Rajasthan Royals’ Steve Smith, who captained him in RPS, will be certainly hoping to have Unadkat in his camp. But, so will Chennai Super Kings’ MS Dhoni have his eyes on Unadkat.
KL Rahul
KL Rahul had a brilliant IPL in 2016 when he joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Karnataka batsman scored 397 runs in 14 matches. The 25-year-old has also grown in stature as an international cricketer in the last two years. He showed great form in the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka, scoring 61 and 89 in the first and second T20 respectively.
Rahul had to miss the last season of the IPL due to a shoulder injury, but with him being fit this time around, the franchises can cash in and get a handy opener or a middle order batsman.
Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson has shown he has the talent to to be one of the top-scorers in an IPL season, but he has not been able to fully utilise his talent so far. The 23-year-old has scored 1,426 runs at an average of 25.46 in 66 IPL matches.
Smason smashed 102 runs off 63 balls against Rising Pune Supergiant for the Delhi Daredevils in the last season, helping his team to win the match by 97 runs. But in the rest of the season, he managed just 284 runs.
However, Samson had a good Ranji Trophy season for Kerala, scoring 627 runs in 12 innings. The right-hand wicketkeeper batsman notched scores of 65* and 71 against Goa and Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well.
Looking at Samson’s decent form and extraordinary talent, the franchises could go the distance to get him on their side.
Kuldeep Yadav
In 2017, wrist spinners ruled the roost in limited-overs cricket in Indian conditions. Therefore, Kuldeep Yadav, considering his unique chinaman angle will be one of the favourites in the IPL auction.
The 23-year-old has also grown as an international cricketer in 2017, picking up 22 wickets in 14 ODIs and 12 wickets in 8 T20s at an average of 24.77 and 18.50 respectively.
Kuldeep, who played for the Kolkata Knight Riders last year, picked up 12 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 28.33.
The Uttar Pradesh bowler recently had a great Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Bengal, returning with figures of 4/26.
Washington Sundar
The right-arm off-spinner Washington Sundar impressed one and all during his first IPL season last year. The Tamil Nadu bowler, who played for the Rising Pune Supergiant picked up 8 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 23.12.
Sundar earned an India cap during the ODI series against Sri Lanka. He returned with figures of 1/65 in the Mohali ODI. He was also given a chance in the third T20 against Sri Lanka. The spinner took 1 wickets for 22 runs.
Sundar has been consistent in his last three Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches recording figures of 2/32, 2/32, and 3/29 against Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Hyderabad respectively.
Dhoni, during a press conference, said that the Chennai team will be looking to grab a few local players. The CSK may have their eyes on Washington Sundar.
Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey, may have had an average 2017 with the Indian team, but his performance in the last IPL season will surely be taken into consideration. The 28-year-old scored 396 runs in 14 matches at an average of 49.50 for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Pandey, who is the first Indian to score a century in the IPL, has been a regular in the KKR side since being picked by them in 2014. He has shown in the past that he can sensibly take a team to a good total or chase down totals.
The Kolkata Knight Riders would certainly like to have him back in their side.
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