IPL 2022 auction: 3 players under pressure to perform well in the upcoming edition

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the biggest events in franchise cricket. Over the past 14 years, the tournament has shaped the careers of numerous players, not just for Team India but for various international sides as well.

It is essential for any player participating in the IPL to perform at their absolute best as player auctions and retentions are heavily dependent on their performance.

Many players have grown into marquee players in the tournament and are expected to perform every time they step onto the field. Although this expectation is slightly unrealistic, players have to maintain consistent performances throughout the tournament.

Players also have to acclimatize themselves to the Indian summer and the pitches on offer. On that note, let's look at players under pressure to perform well in the 2022 IPL edition.

#3 Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan's name is synonymous with England's white-ball cricket. Morgan has shaped his international team to become world champions and consistent performers at various ICC tournaments. The Englishman is a decent T20 player with an average of over 28 at a strike rate of 136 while playing for his country.

However, Morgan has not lived up to his reputation in the IPL. He played his best season for KKR in 2020, where he scored 418 runs for them behind only Shubhman Gill. He also took the leadership role from Dinesh Karthik halfway through the season. Although KKR failed to reach the qualifiers in 2020, his leadership and performance were widely applauded.

KKR retained him as their captain for the 2021 edition and he repaid that faith by finishing as runners-up last year. However, as a batsman, Morgan miserably failed in the 2021 edition. He scored only 133 runs at an average of 11 and a strike rate of 95 and often failed to perform in crucial situations.

Morgan will be available at the mega-auction and teams could look to bring him on board for his captaincy. However, there is no doubt that his batting performances will be closely observed throughout the season.

#2 David Warner

David Warner has been one of the most consistent run-scorers in the IPL. Warner has always finished with more than 400 runs in every edition between 2013-2020. Under his leadership, SRH also lifted the IPL trophy in 2016, defeating Kohli's RCB.

Warner is the fifth-highest run-scorer in the competition, with 5449 runs at an average of almost 42. He also won the Orange Cap thrice in 2015, 2017, and 2019. However, it is safe to say that Warner was far from his best in the last year's competition.

Warner lost the captaincy to Kane Williamson, played only eight matches in the tournament and scored 195 runs at an average of 24. He often struggled to accelerate his innings last year.

SRH eventually lost faith in him and dropped him from the squad. He will be keen to come back strong in the 2022 edition of the IPL with a performance worthy of a three-time Orange Cap winner.

#1 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya grew into the all-rounder role in the Mumbai Indians squad as he had an excellent mentor in Kieron Pollard. With MI, Pandya has consistently performed with both bat and ball. He has scored over 1400 runs in IPL at a tremendous strike rate of 153 and taken 42 wickets at an economy of just 9.

Pandya's consistency and ability to strike the ball at any stage gave MI's batting order stability. His bowling ability also gave Rohit Sharma the freedom to rotate his critical bowlers as per the situation.

However, in the 2021 edition, Pandya failed miserably. Although he had not bowled since the 2020 season, Pandya had performed well with the bat that year. In 2021, Pandya could not contribute with the bat, scoring only 127 runs at a strike rate of 113.

Pandya's lack of consistency forced MI to drop him from the squad ahead of the new IPL season. Despite the newly formed Ahmadabad franchise having appointed Pandya as their captain, Pandya will be keen to regain his all-rounder stature.

Honorable Mentions

MS Dhoni: For the past two years, MS Dhoni has changed his role in the team. However, Dhoni has not been able to perform significantly. He scored only 114 at a strike rate of just over 106 in last year's competition. If this is his final IPL season, Dhoni will be keen to sign off with a more memorable performance with the bat.