Hetmyer, Morgan among players to watch out for at IPL auction

Many of the world’s top cricketers will be among 332 players going under the hammer when the Indian Premier League holds its auction on Thursday.

Here are five players who could break the bank when the eight teams in the Twenty20 tournament place their bids in Kolkata: Glenn Maxwell, an explosive hitter surprised the cricketing world when he recently took a short break because of mental health issues.

He returned to club cricket last month and put his name in the IPL auction having played previously for Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals).

Maxwell has scored 1,397 runs in the IPL at an average of 22.9 at a rapid strike rate of 161.13. He is one of the five Australians to have their base price set at 20 million rupees ($282,000).

England captain Eoin Morgan, who led them to their first 50-over World Cup in July, fast-will be a hot property again having set his base price at 15 million rupees ($212,000).

Morgan last played for Kings XI Punjab in 2017 and went unsold last year, but that is unlikely to happen again given his exploits in the World Cup which included a world record 17 sixes in blasting 148 off 71 balls against Afghanistan.

Morgan’s team-mate Jason Roy, born in South Africa, was a key to England’s World Cup success with a hundred and four half-centuries.

Rated as one of the game’s most destructive limited-overs openers Roy could trigger a bidding war given his rapid strike rate of more than 145 in Twenty20s and a base price of 15 million rupees ($212,000). He played previously for the now-defunct Gujarat Lions and Delhi Capitals as well as enjoying successful stints in South Africa’s Mzansi Super League and the Pakistan Super League.

South African spin sensation Tabraiz Shamsi has emerged as their first-choice limited-overs spinner since Imran Tahir’s retirement from ODIs.

The left-arm bowler’s unusual wicket celebrations include the magician’s trick of turning a handkerchief into a stick, with online footage of his exploits going viral.

“The most important thing is still the bowling,” he said. “If there are no wickets, there are no celebrations.” Playing for the Paarl Rocks in the domestic Mzansi Super League, Shamsi has had many opportunities to perform the sleight of hand, taking 14 wickets in nine matches and he has set his base price at a modest five million rupees ($70,000).

West Indian Shimron Hetmyer is fast building a reputation as the new big-hitting weapon to take over from the now-retired Chris Gayle and the 22-year-old would have done no harm to his auction price with a sparkling career-best 139 in the West Indies’ one-day international win against India on Sunday.

Agence France-Presse