IPL Auction: Pant set for date with history but Arshdeep won't be far behind

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia): The bids on Rishabh Pant could well soar like his audacious no-look six at Perth as he seems poised to become the highest paid player among the 577 who will go under the hammer at the two-day IPL mega auction starting here on Sunday.

There will be INR 641.5 crores cumulatively in the kitty of 10 teams with 204 possible slots to be filled but one can be rest assured that all eyes will be trained on Pant’s name when it comes up.

Punjab Kings, with INR 110.50 crore in their coffers, are ready to outbid the other franchises.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with INR 83 crore, can be another serious bidder, so can be Delhi Capitals, who have INR 73 crore and a Right To Match (RTM) card to get their skipper for past few seasons back.

However, it is reliably learnt that Pant doesn’t want DC to flash the RTM card as their parting of ways has not been the most pleasant and he no longer feels a part of the franchise. His comment that “my Retention wasn’t about money for sure” is a reflection of his thought process.

But the biggest question will be whether Pant can become the first Indian player to breach the INR Rs 25 crore mark? The answer lies in how the 10 franchises are stacked up and how they are looking at their team composition.

A Chennai Super Kings (CSK) or Mumbai Indians (MI), with only Rs 45 crore, wouldn’t even be going for the star keeper-batter.

But Punjab Kings, known for changing their team every two years, have kept their entire purse on advice of their head coach Ricky Ponting, who wants to reunite with his favourite player.

There are 81 players bracketed in INR two crore category base price and two sets of marquee players but one can trust the current India internationals to breach the million dollar mark (INR 8.5 crore).

If Pant would be the cynosure of this auction, Arshdeep Singh, with a staggering 96 T20 International wickets in three seasons, can easily have multiple teams going for him.

Punjab has the RTM card but they wouldn’t know where the bidding stops as it could be north of Rs 20 crore.

Fast bowlers — both Indian and foreign — will be in high demand during the two days while in case of batters, most of the star Indians save Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are taken. Iyer is believed to be Delhi Capitals’ choice for captaincy.

Pant, Rahul and Iyer are three potential captains as RCB, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings are also going to shop for possible leaders.

Among Indians, Ishan Kishan will keep the auctioneer busy although MI might not be in a position to shell out Rs 15.25 crore like last time as they need some good bowling support for Bumrah.

The other interesting name would be Mohammed Shami, who Sanjay Manjrekar thinks won’t attract too many bidders, something the player didn’t take too kindly to. He is playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and how his bidding goes would be noteworthy.

Other names to watch out:

1) Khaleel Ahmed: Those who won’t be able to get Arshdeep can go whole hog for Khaleel. Since Yash Dayal has also been retained by RCB, Khaleel could end up getting handsome bids. He hasn’t exactly shown his potential over the years but it is the demand-supply equation that can get him a million dollar deal.

2) Deepak Chahar: Injuries have pegged him back in past few years but there is no better swing bowler in Powerplay overs in Indian conditions like Chahar. Multiple franchises could bid for him. He has played Ranji Trophy and picked up a five-for and has not been unfit so far.

3) Avesh Khan: He had 19 wickets last season for Rajasthan Royals and went for Rs 10 crore. He might once again fetch a bid as good as that if not better.

4) Harshal Patel: It is that time of the year when people are left stunned as Harshal’s name comes up and he walks away with a million dollar contract. He will once again be a hot property even though he is no longer considered good for national selection. But 24 wickets last season mean that he won’t be ignored.

5) Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Indian seam and swing bowlers controlling powerplay overs are a rare commodity and experience isn’t readily available in the Supermarket. He might not grab eyeballs but if he remains under Rs 10 crore, he could still be a bargain buy and world knows MS Dhoni (CSK’s ‘Real Captain’) likes experienced blokes around him.

6) Jos Buttler: It is unlikely that Yashasvi Jaiswal will get to pair up with his favourite ‘Jos Bhai’ but the Englishman, in the absence of Ben Stokes, could well be the highest paid foreign player. It won’t be a surprise if RCB, factoring in the batting paradise at Chinnaswamy and the short side boundaries, go the distance for him with INR 83 crore in kitty.

7) Liam Livingstone: Livingstone is one player, who could certainly be on Punjab Kings’ RTM radar as well as on wish-list of some of the other franchises. He will certainly fetch a good sum.

8) Kagiso Rabada: Kagiso Rabada will always be in high demand in the IPL Universe. The Delhi Capitals could once again want the pacer back and Punjab would have the option of RTM. Mumbai Indians wouldn’t mind a good pace partner for Bumrah.