IPL 2018 auction: 5 biggest steals

Over the years, IPL Auctions have had their fair share of under-priced players, or as some would like to say "steals", and this year was no different. Many highly-reputed players, international, and domestic, were bought at shockingly low prices by all 8 of the teams.

Maybe it's good business, or maybe it's ignorance from the other teams, but no one can dispute the fact that the players on this list are sure to have a substantial impact on the tournament. Here are the 5 biggest steals from the auction.

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#1 - Colin Munro (Delhi Daredevils): INR 1.9 crores

Colin Munro is a regular fixture in the limited-over formats for New Zealand and has already proven himself to be a consistent top-order batsman for the team, with a batting average of 30 in the shortest format of the game. He has recently beaten a few world records as well, being the first man ever to score three centuries in Twenty20 International history.

Previously, his form has been placed in doubt, but in the past year or so, the right-hander has become one of the best T20 batsmen in the world, as evidenced by his performances in the past two T20I series for New Zealand, getting a century in each, and averaging over 40 across both series against India and West Indies.

He is currently the number-one T20 batsman in the world, and all things considered, Munro is an absolute steal at just INR 1.9 Crores for the Dehli Daredevils.

#2 - Lungi Ngidi (Chennai Super Kings): INR 50 lakhs

Many fans may not have heard of Lungi Ngidi, but he is one of the hottest new prospects in all of cricket right now. The fans that have heard of him probably know him from his appearance in the 2nd Test of the Freedom Trophy Test Series against India, where he laid out a dominant performance, returning figures of 7/87, with 6/39 in the second innings. Test cricket isn't even his speciality, T20 cricket is. In Twenty20 Internationals, the 21-year old has a fantastic bowling average of 7.33.

Ngidi has yet to prove himself in the IPL, but he is sure to make a huge impact on the Chennai Super Kings, considering that he is a one-of-a-kind bowler, capable of reaching speeds in the 145 kph region, and is as comfortable a bowler at the start as at the death, making him a menace for batsmen.

For a man with such talent, it's hard to argue with the fact that at 50 lakh rupees, he is an absolute steal. Kudos to Chennai.

#3 - Basil Thampi (Sunrisers Hyderabad): INR 95 lakhs

Thampi played for the now-defunct Gujarat Lions last season

The only domestic player on this list, Thampi was bought by the Gujarat Lions last auction, and had a cracker of a season, bagging 11 wickets in 12 games and winning the "IPL Emerging Player of the Season" award. He had gotten those wickets through his exquisite way of bowling, which enabled him to swing the ball with deadly accuracy.

Thampi is also known for his fast yorkers, which have tricked the likes of Steve Smith into getting bowled. Since then, he has brought additional tricks up his fast-bowling sleeve, introducing a slow yorker to his game, which has proved to be a killer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament, when paired up with his fast yorker.

There is no doubt that a fast bowler that can consistently bowl at 140 kph, swing the ball with great accuracy, and has different variations of yorkers isn't worth merely 95 lakh. A very good buy for sure!

#4 - Mitchell Santner (Chennai Super Kings): INR 50 lakhs

Mitchell Santner is only 25 years old and is already considered one of the best left arm spinners in the world. He is so good, he's considered the next Daniel Vettori. Whether or not he lives up to the name is another matter, but he has proven himself to be a very diverse bowler, capable of turning the ball in all different ways.

He even has his own type of off-spinning ball, the "mana ball", which has taken out many world-class players in recent times.

Santner is also a capable batsman, with a batting average of about 20 and a strike rate of 130, stats that are not bad for a man who usually takes up the number 8 position. Overall a great buy for the Super Kings. They were on fire at this year's auction.

#5 - Imran Tahir (Chennai Super Kings): INR 1 crore

Imran Tahir had one hell of a 2017, being in outstanding form and performing at a world-class level, as evident by his ranking on the ICC ODI Rankings, where he is at the top. He has a vast arsenal of leg breaks, from googlies, to sliders, which tend to trick batsmen and make them fumble, a major source of Tahir's success.

Tahir is also scarily consistent, always getting wickets at a low economy rate, part of the reason he plays for South Africa in the first place.

There is no doubt in the world that Imran Tahir is one of, if not the best leg-spinning bowler in the world when it comes to limited-overs cricket, which makes him a phenomenal buy for just 1 crore rupees.