IPL 2019: Top 7 cricketers who were the value buys of the auction

IPL Auction 2019 is finally done and the franchises have let their emotions out loud. There were a few surprising picks like Prabhsimran Singh and Prayas Ray Berman while the selection of Sam Curran, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran etc. were on the expected lines.

It was surprising to see Varun Chakaravarthy and Jaydev Unadkat end up as the most expensive buys in the IPL auction 2019 at Rs.8.4 Crore. Though this is still below Virat Kohli (who is paid 17 crores), Varun Chakaravarthy and Jaydev Unadkat have become the most expensive players in the IPL auctions 2019.

Apart from these expensive buys, there were many players who were grabbed by the franchises at a mouthwatering price. Here in this article, let us look at the top 7 cricketers who were the real Bargain buys of the IPL Auction 2019.

# 7 Oshane Thomas – Rajasthan Royals – Rs.1.10 Crore

Oshane Thomas will be looking forward to his debut IPL season.

The Big West Indian was expected to rake in considerable money in the IPL 2019 auctions after his heroics in the India – West Indies Series. But the fact that his name came up late in the pecking order of the auction list after many of the teams were done with their pace quadrant did not help his cause.

He attracted interest from Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, but Punjab did not take the journey much far. Rajasthan was able to grab him for a paltry Rs.1.1 Crore as their backup pace option to Jofra Archer. Jofra Archer, being susceptible to injury has been a worry for Rajasthan Royals and with Oshane Thomas that worry is well hedged.

Oshane Thomas will be looking forward to making an impact in the IPL much like the other West Indian stalwarts. He is just 21 years old and has the age on his side to grow into a great West Indian pace bowler reminiscent of the yesteryear greats like Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, and Sylvester Clarke etc.

At Rs. 1.1 Crore, he is a decent bargain buy for Rajasthan Royals.

# 6 Wridhiman Saha - SRH – Rs.1.20 Crore

Saha is back to his Sunrisers camp for IPL 2019 season.

Wriddhiman Saha is an absolute team player. VVS Laxman and the Sunrisers management knows that very well and is happy to grab the wicketkeeper at Rs.1.20 Crore. Rajasthan Royals were also interested in grabbing him at the near base price, but eventually, it was supposed to be a homecoming for Wridhiman Saha.

Sunrisers have an Indian wicketkeeper in their squad in Sreevats Goswami. Considering the possibility of Goswami running out of form in the IPL season, it makes sense to have a solid alternative for the player. If Saha is fully fit, he might even get the nod ahead of Goswami on account of his superior keeping abilities and rock-solid batting style.

Sunrisers also have brought in Jonny Bairstow in the place of released Alex Hales and he can keep comfortably. You can expect Bairstow to be their primary wicketkeeper in the initial stages of IPL 2019 season and once he leaves for World cup duties, Wridhiman Saha is likely to take over.

Overall, Wridhiman Saha at Rs. 1.20 Crore is a decent bargain buy for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

# 5 Martin Guptill – SRH - Rs.1 Crore

Martin Guptill will be looking forward to making an impression in the Indian pitches with the IPL 2019 season.

Martin Guptill was grabbed by Sunrisers Hyderabad at his base price as a possible replacement option for Jonny Bairstow and David Warner. Guptill, even though has high stakes in the international T20 format does not rake up much enthusiasm among the IPL team due to his Indian performances. He will be gladly looking forward to changing that perception in IPL 2019, as and when he gets his chance to open the innings with his international team captain Kane Williamson.

Guptill has had stints with Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab before this season. His contribution in 10 games has been only 189 runs at an average of 21 which has worked against him in the IPL 2019 auctions. But Sunrisers Hyderabad has chosen to back him up considering he has an average of 34.41 in T20 cricket in 73 innings.

At Rs. 1 Crore, he is a decent bargain buy for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

# 4 Sarfaraz Kahan – KXIP – Rs.25 Lakhs

Sarfaraz khan had been the blue-eyed boy for RCB for quite a few seasons of the previous IPL. He raised many eyebrows when he was retained by RCB ahead of much many other established players like KL Rahul and Chahal. But his performances in the last IPL season was far from perfect. He could do much justice to the role of being the finisher for the team and RCB struggled. Come IPL 2019, he was released by RCB.

Sarfaraz Khan found initial interest with Delhi Capitals opening the bidding for him. But once Kings XI Punjab bettered it with Rs.25 lakhs, Delhi choose to opt out of the race. Sarfaraz Khan will now don the pink jersey of Punjab and hope to change his fortunes in the IPL 2019.

Considering the fact Punjab has not been able to rake up enough hard hitters in the auctions, the role of Sarfaraz Khan becomes crucial. Apart from Prabhsimran Singh (for whom Punjab spent 4.80 Crore) and Agnivesh Ayachi, both of them playing the debut season, there is not much competition for the spot in Punjab lower order. Hope Sarfaraz Khan comes good in the opportunities that he gets.

At Rs. 25 Lakhs, he is a decent bargain buy for Kings XI Punjab.

# 3 Heinrich Klassen – RCB – Rs.50 Lakhs

Heinrich Klassen did not have a great IPL 2018 season with Rajasthan Royals. That might be one of the primary reasons why he did not attract many hues and cries on the IPL 2019 auction table. Klassen was signed by Royals in the last IPL season as a replacement for the banned Steve Smith considering his ability to handle spin quite well. But the move did not help Rajasthan as Klassen scored just 57 runs in the four opportunities that he got.

Even then the quality of the player was never under the scanner. With Bangalore desperately in need of a stable player in their middle order to partner AB de Villiers, his own Countryman was their first choice. With Kohli, Devilliers, and Klassen forming the middle order, RCB will hope to set aside their batting worries and focus on having a better IPL season. And don’t forget the fact that Klassen brings in the additional bonus of being a wicketkeeper.

Dependence on Parthiv Patel comes down to a large extent owing to this and RCB have more flexibility in picking the final XI. At Rs. 50 Lakhs, he is a steal deal for RCB.

# 2 Gurkeerat Singh Mann – RCB – 50 Lakhs

Gurkeerat Singh Mann was released by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) from their squad and Royal Challengers Bangalore quietly grabbed him at his base price of Rs. 50 Lakhs. He had a five-year spell with the Kings XI Punjab IPL side till 2017 and is quite handy with his off-breaks apart from his hitting prowess lower down the order.

With Royal challengers clearly in need of strengthening their lower middle order, Gurkeerat fits into the side with ease. His ability to roll his arms over will be a bonus to the RCB side considering the price at which he has been grabbed.

RCB also have similar kind of players in Pawan Negi and Washington Sundar in their squad. With the addition of Gurkeerat, the dependence on Negi and Sundar is largely reduced and can be easily replaced with Gurkeerat on any day. It remains to be seen if RCB is going to favour Gurkeerat ahead of Negi/Sundar or whether they will choose to play two of them in the playing XI.

Whatever might be the case, Gurkeerat Singh Mann at Rs. 50 Lakhs is a top-class bargain buy for the IPL team and is sure to bring in superb results on the table.

# 1 Yuvraj Singh – Mumbai Indians – Rs.1 Crore

Yuvraj Singh will look to relieve Rohit of his middle order duties.

Mumbai Indians were missing a proper No. 5 batsman in their middle order. That was primarily one of the reasons why Rohit Sharma had to come down the order and play in the middle order. With the inclusion of Yuvraj Singh into the scheme of things in the Mumbai Lineup, that worry is now set aside.

It is to be seen whether Rohit will replace Suryakumar Yadav at the opening slot, but the option is now available to the Mumbai team management. Suryakumar Yadav, being the versatile player that he is, can play as the finisher for the team along with Kieron Pollard and Pandya brothers while Rohit Sharma opens with Quinton de Kock/Evin Lewis.

The Mumbai Management had come out in the open to proclaim that getting Yuvraj at Rs.1 Crore was the biggest bargain ever in the IPL history. Considering the experience and quality, Yuvraj possesses, it really was surprising to see that not many other franchises opted to bid for him.

We agree with the Ambanis in this case, Yuvraj Singh at Rs.1 Crore is a real value buy.