With the Indian T20 League teams releasing a host of big names in order to load up the purse, the upcoming auction for the 2021 season, scheduled on February 18 in Chennai, makes up for an interesting watch.
As many as 1097 players have registered for the Indian T20 League 2021 auction, and the recently concluded Big Bash League now presents the franchises with a glorious opportunity to fill up the much-needed loopholes.
With that being said, today we take a look at three players who can land in lucrative deals for the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 League after wreaking much havoc in BBL this year.
Alex Hales
Sydney Thunders may have bowed out in the playoffs, but a certain Alex Hales once again showed how vicious he can be in the shortest format of the game. In 15 BBL matches this season, the England international accumulated 543 runs, scoring at an average of 38.78. Hitting at a strike rate of 161.60, which was the best amongst the batsmen with a minimum of 300 runs in the competition, Hales scored the highest individual score of this year’s edition (110 off just 56 balls) to further up his credentials in the T20 format.
With many teams releasing their top-order batsmen, including the likes of Bangalore and Rajasthan, Hales will certainly be a good option to consider.
Jhye Richardson
Registered in the auction at a base price of INR 1.5 crore, one can rightly expect a potential bidding war for Australia’s Jhye Richardson, who is coming at the back of a scorching Big Bash League season, having topped the wicket-taking chart with 29 wickets, which includes as many as two four-wicket hauls. Judging by the form, the 24-year-old is enjoying of late, he could well and truly turn out to be a handy option for the teams especially in the powerplay overs; something that he has already showcased in the BBL, having bowled at an average and economy of 16.31 and 7.69 respectively.
Dawid Malan
Like Richardson, batsman Dawid Malan has entered the auction at a base price of INR 1.5 crore. The world's top-ranked T20I batsman, who is yet to feature in the Indian T20 League, can be a serious contender for the teams who are looking to fill up their number 3 position, meaning that the likes of team Punjab, Chennai, Kolkata and maybe Mumbai per se, can splurge big for the Englishman during the auction. Judging by his standards, Malan had a substandard return during the BBL season, accumulating 265 runs in 10 matches at an average of 26.50, but he indeed gave a few glimpses of his sheer brilliance, including a knock of 75 off 56 deliveries against Melbourne Stars.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @BBL
