IPL 2021: 3 Teams that can pick James Neesham in the auction

The IPL auction is less than 2 weeks away from us and the excitement levels are skyrocketing with every passing day. 1097 players have registered themselves for the auction with players like Shakib Al Hasan, Steve Smith and Chris Morris being some of the big names who will go under the hammer. However, Mitchell Starc and Joe Root didn’t register themselves for the auction. 

James Neesham is one of the many players who will be a part of the auction, and his base price is expected to be around INR 50-75 lakh. He was a part of Kings XI Punjab last season, but he wasn’t used properly by the KL Rahul-led franchise. He is a dangerous middle-order batsman and also has the ability to pick up important wickets with the ball, although he has the tendency to be a bit expensive. 

He has scored 1903 runs in 136 T20s at a strike rate of 137.1 and averages 25.71. He also has 126 wickets to his name at a strike rate of 16.8 while conceding at just over 9 runs per over. There are quite a few teams that are in need of an all-rounder like Neesham either as a starter or as a squad player.

Here’s a look at 3 such teams who can pick James Neesham in the IPL auction:

1. Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals had their best ever season last year as they qualified for the final for the first time in their history. They have retained 17 players for the upcoming season and have a maximum of 3 overseas slots that can be filled. With Woakes, Nortje and Rabada in their squad, they are well stocked in the pace bowling department.

Shimron Hetmyer and Marcus Stoinis are the other two overseas players in the squad, and they will try to buy a middle-order batsman who can provide some competition for places, and Jimmy Neesham would be a decent choice considering the fact that he would mostly be available at a bargain price.

Hetmyer wasn’t quite consistent last season and even his alternative, Alex Carey didn’t look quite comfortable batting in the middle order. Neesham would be a pretty good backup to have in case he fails to get going, and he would also provide cover for Stoinis if the Australian is injured or suffers from loss of form.