On Tuesday the IPL released the final auction pool stating 36 new names were added based on requests from the franchises. A total of 273 Indian players, and 132 overseas – including four from Associate countries – are part of the final list. There are 119 capped players alongside 286 uncapped players.
As per the norm, the auction will begin with capped players, the IPL breaking them up into different sets based on the specialisation. In an e-mail to franchises on Tuesday, the IPL listed the order as: batters, allrounders, wicketkeeper-batters, fast bowlers and spinners. The same order will be followed for the uncapped players.
No one was happier for Brook than his captain Stokes, who felt his 23-year-old England team-mate has the potential to dominate all three formats. Stokes himself returns to the IPL auction after having skipped the tournament last year, which forced Rajasthan Royals to release him. Having listed his base price at INR 2 crore, he remains a strong contender to bag the most expensive player tag thanks to his reputation as a serial match-winner and leader.
Another newcomer, and allrounder, that franchises have kept their eye on is Green. The Australian’s power-hitting during the white-ball series in India recently made him an instant attraction. Green can float in the batting order, plays spin well and can bowl good medium-pace. He, too, has listed his base price at INR 2 crore.
But a strong performance in the recently held Abu Dhabi T10 – 345 runs at 49.28 average – showed Pooran remains an impact player in short form cricket.
At the end of the deadline day – November 15 – to retain and release players, Sunrisers had the largest purse (INR 42.25 crore) for the auction, followed by Kings (INR 32.20 crore), Lucknow Super Giant (INR 23.35 crore), Mumbai Indians (INR 20.55 crore), Chennai Super Kings (INR 20.45 crore), Delhi Capitals (INR 19.45 crore), Gujarat Titans (INR 19.25 crore), Royals (INR 13.2 crore), Royal Challengers Bangalore (INR 8.75 crore) and Kolkata Knight Riders (INR 7.05 crore).