The IPL 2024 auction is all set to get underway on Wednesday, December 19, at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. The auction will be held for the 17th season of the cash-rich league and will take place in March 2024 next year.
A total of 333 players will go under the hammer with 119 of them being overseas players. The 10 franchises can combinedly fill a maximum of 70 slots to their respective squads. This means only 21% of the players will be picked in the auction from the available lot.
There are some star overseas players in the auction as well who can induce an intense bidding war the moment they go under the hammer. Let’s look at three such players who will be in a very high demand in the upcoming auction.
3. Travis Head
The Australian batter has been in a red-hot form with the willow in his hand for quite some time now. Travis Head wrote a fairytale chapter for himself in 2023 with his heroics in the Ashes in England followed by the World Cup in India.
Even though he wasn’t available for the Aussies in the first half of the tournament, Head bagged the player of the match awards in the semi-final and final of the World Cup. He smashed 137 in the final against India on a dry wicket in Ahmedabad while chasing 241.
Head has played only 10 matches in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) between 2016 and 2017, scoring 75 runs at a strike rate of 138.51. The South Australian all-rounder will be on the cards of multiple franchises looking to consolidate the services of a top-order batter and an off-spinner as well.
2. Mitchell Starc
The lanky and fiery Australia pacer has made himself available in the auction after a long-awaiting moment from his fans. The last time Starc featured in an IPL auction was in 2018 and was purchase by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a lucrative price of INR 9.40 crore. A stress fracture in his right leg ruled out the left-arm quick ahead of the season.
Starc last played for RCB in the IPL during the Qualifier 2 match against Chennai Super Kings. He has picked up 34 wickets in 27 IPL matches at an economy rate of 7.17. Starc will be targeted by a few teams lacking a genuine quick or a bowling spearhead. The interesting question is whether the Australian quick will be able to breach the 9.40 crore-mark or not?
1. Wanindu Hasaranga
The Sri Lankan wily spinner made his IPL debut for RCB in the second leg of the IPL 2021 season staged in the United Arab Emirates. Although he was release from the squad ahead of IPL 2022 auctions, the United Spirits-owned team shelled out a hefty sum of INR 10.75 crore to re-purchase Hasaranga.
The leg-spinner has played 26 IPL matches for RCB, accounting for 35 dismissals at an average of 21.37 and an economy rate of 8.13. Hasaranga was in a serious challenge with Rajasthan Royals leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal during IPL 2022 for the Purple cap. He was just one wicket shy of the Indian player’s tally of 27 scalps that season.
Hasaranga played just eight matches for RCB last season after the inclusion of the impact player rule. He was released from the squad along with other high-priced players in order to accommodate the trade for Australian all-rounder Cameron Green from Mumbai Indians. Hasaranga can be in demand in the auction for his mystery bowling.
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