The IPL auctions, a prelude to the gala sunner festival, the Indian Premier League, is upon us already and we have started finding potential suitors for players. Teams are digging into their scouts and finding weak areas to plug. While the big names are making a lot of noise, the underrated International stars could be the value-adds that most teams need this season. Here we take a glance at three of them.
Glenn Maxwell
The blistering Aussie all-rounder is back having fought through his mental illness and we can’t wait to see him in action. A handy part-time off-spinner and a belligerent batsman who can take on the spinners with conviction, Maxwell will be a key player for most franchises this IPL auction.
A T20 strike rate of 154.74 and an IPL strike rate of 161.14 shows Maxwell’s destructive capabilities. Even with him being down with mental illness, 2019 was a bumper year for him in T20s. He has 812 runs in 21 T20s this year at a strike rate of 157.67 and eight half-centuries.
Franchises that could be interested in him: CSK, KKR, RCB
Dale Steyn
The gun South Africa pacer has set a base price of Rs 2 crore which might seem to be a tad too high. But Steyn has forced himself back into the reckoning with a bumper Mzansi Super League where he has picked up 15 wickets at an economy of just 7.09, the second most wickets in the league this season.
Steyn is a potent force with the new ball and can also bowl accurate yorkers in the death overs and will be an asset for most franchises. That most franchises would be disinterested in him because of his injury history means that the franchise eyeing him could get him for a cheap rate.
Franchises that could be interested in him: MI, KKR, RCB
James Neesham
The New Zealand all-rounder is a fine hard hitting batsman in limited-overs cricket and is in the form of his life. He has played only 3 T20Is in 2019, but Neesham has struck at 165.78 while averaging pretty decently. In ODIs, he averages 43.6 with the bat and has struck at a rate of more than 107 in 2019.
In crunch situations this year, Neesham has stood out for the Kiwis with his composure and temperament. In the World Cup, he made a superb 97* against Pakistan and in the finals against England, picked up three wickets and scored a 13 off 5 balls in the Super Over.
Franchises that could be interested in him: SRH, RCB, RR