The players’ auction of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is all set to take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. This year, the auction will be huge as from 2022 onwards, the cash-rich league will be a 10-team affair with two new sides entering the competition.
Notably, all 10 teams were allotted a purse of INR 90 crore, which was utilised firstly by the already existing eight teams, who revealed the list of players they retained ahead of the players’ auction. In total, 27 players have been retained by the teams, which include 19 Indians and 8 overseas. Further, six more players were picked in the drafts by the two new franchises (three players each) – Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
There is no doubt that several stars will now go under the hammer in the auctions and the franchises would be keen to buy their services. But who will be able to crack a million-dollar deal would be the red-hot topic amongst fans, and regarding the same, veteran Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle has named two players who can fetch the big bucks in IPL 2022.
Bhogle first picked explosive opening batter Ishan Kishan, who was released by Mumbai Indians (MI) prior to the auction process. Bhogle reckoned that Ishan fulfils three basic requirements – Indian player, left-handed batter and wicketkeeper – which every franchise looks for in the auctions.
“Ishan Kishan, because he ticks off an Indian player, left-hander, wicketkeeper… left-hand top-order wicketkeeper, that’s three boxes you’re looking for,” said Bhogle on Cricbuzz.
Bhogle then named Tamil Nadu star Shahrukh Khan, who impressed one and all with his exploits in the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2021. The veteran commentator felt that Shahrukh, who was not retained by PBKS for the next season, reminds him of explosive batter Yusuf Pathan.
“I’m expecting him to do really well this year because there is a spark about him, and he’s got a huge presence at the crease. He’s big built, a bit like Yusuf Pathan. You know, Yusuf Pathan in his prime when he was batting, he had that presence about him at the crease, and I find a little bit of that in Shahrukh Khan,” added Bhogle.
