The lack of fluency with the bat lately by Yuvraj Singh hasn't helped him to increase his chances for the IPL 12 auction. Yuvraj failed in the IPL 11 with the bat and he also had a poor outing in Vijay Hazare Trophy with just 264 in 7 matches.
Not only Yuvraj, but even Ishant Sharma isn't attracting the franchises for auction. Ishant had missed out the last season after failing to get a buyer.
“There are no emotions when we go into the auctions looking to build our side,” Delhi Capitals’s co-owner Parth Jindal had told CricketNext recently. “We all know about someone like Yuvraj’s form and fitness so far this season. All franchisees will do their homework well,”
Jaydev Unadkat and Akshar Patel are two buys teams would be looking for. The Delhi franchise CEO also opened up about his choice. “Axar is quite a useful bowler and Delhi as well as Rajasthan are short of spinners in their line-up,” Amrit Mathur, the former CEO of Delhi franchise, told CricketNext. “I think he’ll get quite a good deal with a lot of franchises interested in quality Indian spinners."
Indian bowlers may not play whole season because of workload management as they will have to play World Cup 2019 just after the tournament.
Mohammad Shami's unavailability for whole season may play a major factor on whether he will be sold or not.
“Any franchise that picks Shami will expect him to lead their attack but if he has to be rested for half the tournament then teams will much rather opt for younger pacemen like Barinder Sran or Mohit Sharma or Varun Aaron,” Mathur said.
“Ishant Sharma like Yuvraj looks over the hill for the IPL format. I’ll be surprised if he generates interest going by his past IPL record and the fact that he went unsold last year.”
“Teams will be willing to bet on some Under-19 seamers as well,” a franchise official said. “There are also young spinners like Odisha’s Pappu Roy, who is believed to be a promising talent and Tamil Nadu leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy was very successful in the Vijay Hazare trophy.”
Teams looking for wicket-keepers have Wriddhiman Saha and Naman Ojha as an option. But there is a question on Wriddhiman Saha's fitness and an out-of-form Naman Ojha is also not looking very attractive.
“Saha’s fitness is a big question mark because he still hasn’t returned to first-class cricket,” another franchise owner said. “While Naman has struggled to hit top form and he is also over 35 years of age. But Kings XI, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad are all looking for Indian wicketkeepers, so Saha and Naman could answer for them.”
There is still not much clarity on the venue of IPL 2019. The availability of foreign players is also doubtful because of World Cup and hence franchises may opt for the young Indian players.
“Apart from Indian bowlers, South Africa, New Zealand, and West Indies players will be in demand to ensure that teams are prepared for all kinds of surfaces,” Mathur said. “The franchises will be wary of England and Australian players, so the safest bet is young Indian cricketers.”
(With Inputs of Cricket Next)
