IPL 2019: Rassie van der Dussen among five late additions to the auction list

Rassie van der Dussen is the biggest attraction among the five players.

Published - 18 Dec 2018, 09:44 IST | Updated - 18 Dec 2018, 09:44 IST

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The IPL auction for the 12th edition of the league will be held on Tuesday at Jaipur. Initially, a total of 346 players were set to go under the hammer. However, things have changed up slightly just a day ahead of the event. Along with English limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan, four other players were added to the list to make the total 351 now. South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen, uncapped Australian Riley Meredith, and Indians Mayank Dagar and Pranav Gupta are the others.

It came as quite a surprise that Eoin Morgan wasn’t on the list originally. He has got a proven track record in T20 cricket. However, the left-hander went unsold in the auction in 2019. With his inclusion, the total number of England players set to take a part in the proceedings in now reached 19. But, the Brits are expected to miss the last two to three weeks of action which makes the franchises think twice about their decision.

Rassie van der Dussen could attract a bidding war

Rassie van der Dussen has been in some mindboggling form in 2018. He was the highest run-scorer in the Mzansi Super League. His three consecutive half-centuries in the tournament helped his team, Jozi Stars, clinch the title. He was also a part of the winning team, Vancouver Knights, in the Global T20 Canada and had a decent run in the CPL.

Dussen is extremely good through the middle overs and can accelerate exponentially towards the death overs. He honed his skills, especially through Crossfit and kick-boxing. Interestingly, the other pick, Riley Meredith, the pace bowler, has only played two T20 games thus far, both in the BBL this year.

Pranav Gupta is one of the six Jammu & Kashmir players in the auction pool. The other Indian player, Mayank Dagar is Virender Sehwag‘s nephew and plied his trade for the Kings XI Punjab last year. This 22-year-old player is a bowling all-rounder.