IPL 2020: 5 West Indies players who might receive massive bids in the auction

Right from the start of the first edition, the West Indian players have been a big part of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In fact, some of the most entertaining players in the IPL have been from the West Indies. Be it Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard or some of the others, they’ve all been a big part of the IPL.

Robust power, monstrous sixes, buoyant attitude and impactful performances – West Indies players have been an indispensable part of the IPL for their distinctive traits. The Men from the Caribbean are known for being good T20 players. Some of them have been performing well in the recent past as well.

Thus, with the auction for the 2020 IPL season only a few days away, here we look five West Indian players who might get big bids in the auction:

Sheldon Cottrell

Sheldon Cottrell’s stocks have risen quite a bit over the last year or so. He’s played most of his international games in 2019 and has become West Indies’ premier white-ball bowler. The left-arm pacer has been one of the key performers for West Indies this year.

He has picked up 28 wickets and 14 wickets in ODIs and T20Is respectively. Cottrell can be very effective with both the new and the old ball. He has the ability to move the new ball and trouble the batsmen. The Jamaican fast bowler has decent variations as well.

Thus, Cottrell will attract quite a few teams in the upcoming auction. Moreover, his base price of INR 50 lakhs works in his favour as well.

Shimron Hetmyer

At this time last year, Shimron Hetmyer could do little wrong. He was scoring runs across formats and bagged a 4.2 crore (INR) IPL deal. He was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) but didn’t get a lot of opportunities. He was dropped after poor outings in the first four games.

However, he came back for the last game and smashed a 75 to show what he is capable of. That wasn’t enough as he was released by RCB. Moreover, his form has been pretty scratchy and he’s been guilty of throwing away good starts. But he’s shown signs of returning to his best. The left-hander has been batting and hitting the ball really well on the tour to India.

Hetmyer is a game-changer and can take the game away from the opposition in no time. The left-handed batsman has kept his base price at INR 50 lakhs which is not too high and will attract teams.

Evin Lewis

Evin Lewis may not hog the limelight like some of his other teammates but he is a very dangerous batsman at the top of the order. He can give a flying start and take the attack to the opposition. Moreover, the left-handed opener has the ability to score big scores as well.

Lewis was a part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) set-up over the last couple of seasons. He played 16 games across two seasons and amassed 430 runs at a strike-rate of 131.1. But his inconsistency and Quinton de Kock’s rise in the MI camp meant that he had to be released.

The Trinidad-born cricketer will enter the auction with a base price of INR 1 crore. The last time he was in the auction pool, Lewis was bought for INR 3.8 crore. He may well go big this year as well. He is a destructive player at the top and there are teams who want attacking batsmen at the top.

Brandon King

Brandon King is another batsman who can be destructive at the top of the order. He is someone who has come through the Under-19 World Cup ranks and has gradually moved up. King has been around for a few years but has started getting more opportunities recently.

T20 is his best format. He has an average of 31.38 and a strike-rate of 134.43 in the shortest format. This year, King had a fantastic time in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). He amassed 496 runs in the tournament and averaged 55.11. He even had a strike-rate of nearly 150 as well.

Thus, he may well be an attractive proposition. Teams might want him as a hitter at the top of the order and at a base price of INR 50 lakhs, he could be worth a try.

Kesrick Williams

It was in 2016 when Kesrick Williams shot into the limelight after a very good Caribbean Premier League (CPL). He had picked up 17 wickets in a season and he made his T20I debut soon after. The pacer had a good start to his international career but he did go off the boil for some time. In fact, he was out of the West Indies side for about 15 months.

However, he seems to have found his mojo back and he has done well in the recent past. Williams had a decent CPL this year where he took 12 wickets. He returned to the national side in the T20 format against Afghanistan last month. Since then, he’s picked up 11 wickets from eight games.

Williams did go for runs in the first game against India but came back well in the next two and was very impressive. Moreover, he is a fierce competitor and his celebrations are entertaining as well. Thus, teams that play on slower decks at home might want to have Williams in their side. He has an excellent T20I record as well (41 wickets from 24 games at a strike-rate of 12.7).