IPL 2014 Auctions: Expect the unexpected, and more!

What Can Be Expected?

Quinton de Kock will be a prize catch for the franchises

An all-out, intensive bidding war will break out between the franchises, so it is a question of keeping calm under high pressure – something skipper MS Dhoni seems to have forgotten how to do. Overseas players will once again be targeted, even though their eventual prices may not be quite at the same high level as in previous editions. Quinton de Kock, Steve Smith, Alex Hales and Ryan ten Doeschate are the ones to watch out for, along with the ten Australians and some of the Kiwis.

For the first time, the uncapped Indian players will also have more of an influence in the franchises’ final decisions. The likes of KL Rahul, Rishi Dhawan, Unmukt Chand, and Vijay Zol will certainly pique their interest. Because the IPL Governing Council has chosen to start all over with a clean slate, it gives the younger lot another chance to impress the national selection panel (at least for the Twenty20 format). Hence, competition among the players is bound to become much healthier.

Quite a few veterans may yet command respect this time as well. Mike Hussey, at 38, still has fitness levels of a 20-year old. Brad Hodge is IPL’s version of Dev Anand – evergreen and still sharp. Jacques Kallis might just be retained by KKR despite having called time on his Test career.

On the bowling front, I do not foresee too many surprise inclusions as such – except that the uncapped Indian players may get a fair share of playing time. I’m just curious to see how the current crop of seamers in the Indian side- Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami and Varun Aaron – fare in the auctions; neither of them has impressed me in the ODI format, and Shami has been extremely overworked.

Praveen Kumar’s comeback from injury and disciplinary issues will be under scrutiny, and he may still be a great catch for most of the franchises. Vikramjeet Mallik and Parvinder Awana have also done well in recent editions, while young Bhargav Bhatt has kept the art of left-arm spin alive; Kings XI Punjab should look to buy these players back, as I suspect the others may not be too interested in them.

No Country For Ashish Nehra?

Ashish Nehra

The former Indian seamer’s international career has been blighted by frequent injuries and form slumps. He has been part of four IPL teams, including his home side of Delhi, and hasn’t done much of note in recent times. A six-wicket haul against Vidarbha in this season’s Ranji Trophy showed that he isn’t past his prime yet, but franchises haven’t shown much interest in him.

I would prefer it if Delhi could buy him back at an acceptable price. Nehra has proved successful in the shorter formats, and getting him back in the side would help instil some confidence in him, and Delhi would certainly have an experienced warrior in their bowling line-up.

But given head coach Gary Kirsten’s clear intentions of starting with a clean, blank slate, the chances of Ashish turning out in DD’s colours are as remote as the continent of Antarctica. Maybe there is no country for the man who was vilified for India’s defeat to South Africa in the 2011 World Cup.

Final Summary

Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid walked off into the IPL’s sunset in 2013, thus taking off some of the sheen from the seventh edition. Their presence as mentors of both the Mumbai and Rajasthan franchises will be of immense benefit, both at the auctions as well as in the dugout.

The new rules might force a few radical strategies to come to the fore, and there would be a lot of surprises, but the thrill of players going under the hammer, though a little less lustrous than before, will certainly pull more viewers in.

Till then, I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that the uncapped Indian players come to the party!