IPL 2022: 5 non-retained players who might get huge salary hike in mega auction

The Indian Premier League was inaugurated in the year 2008 and has got a flourishing response throughout. This massive stage has unveiled many talents throughout the world. The league has been doing this from the first edition and it has opened up with two new teams in the 15th edition of this grandeur.

One of the factors which makes the cricketers fascinated about this league is the pay they get for their performance. Nowhere have they got equivalent pay for their work. One good season can make your salary inflate for the next one.

With the mega auction to be held soon, the teams have announced their retained players for the season 2022 and beyond. Many players were unable to retain by the franchises due to the retention policies. There are plenty of  players who performed exceptionally well in the last season and would get a hike in their pay.

5. Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel picked up 32 wickets at an outstanding average of 14.3 in the IPL 2021 season, equalling Dwayne Bravo’s record for the most wickets in a single IPL season. He took a five-wicket haul as well as a hat trick in this season.

Harshal played a key role in helping Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore reach the play-offs. He used his variations at the death overs wonderfully to trouble the opposition teams. It is to be noted that he also won the Game Changer of the Season and Most Valuable Player along with the Purple Cap.

This 30-year-old bowler has not been a new entity to the IPL and has been playing since 2012, but he has always been under the radar. His fortunes completely changed when he was traded by Delhi Capitals to RCB for the base price of INR 20 lakhs. For his recent form, he might be a big fish under the hammer in the auctions

4. Faf Du Plessis

Faf Du Plessis is one of the most underpriced cricketers for his experience, innovative batting, and acrobatic fielding skills. He has been a part of this league since 2012 and has been a beloved cricketer of the Chennai Super Kings franchise.

He has always been a consistent run-getter for CSK and was a key player in the triumph of the team in the 14th edition. He was the second-highest run-getter in the last season with 633 runs and had an average of 45.21 with a strike rate of 138.20.

The Proteas player missed his Orange Cap just by two runs to his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad. He was picked by CSK in 2018 by the use of an RTM card for a price of INR 1.6 crore and this was his salary for the three seasons. He will go for a better price in the approaching mega auction.

3. Lockie Ferguson

Lockie Ferguson is one of the fastest bowlers going around in the world right now. He is a very few of the bowlers who can bowl consistently at a pace of over 150 kmph. He debuted in the IPL in 2017 for Rising Pune Supergiants and was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 1.6 crores in 2019.

The speedster was quite impressive in his short tenure. He has improved his accuracy over the few years and is a much-improved bowler right now. He bowled 30 overs in 2021 and took 13 wickets with an astounding economy of 7.46 and also bowled the second fastest delivery of 152.75 kmph in the season.

The Kiwi bowler troubled almost all the batters in this season and was extremely effective with his accurate yorkers and bouncers. He might go for a higher price in the mega auction considering his good wicket-taking ability, economy, pace, and his versatility to bowl in the powerplay as well in death overs

2. Devdutt Padikkal

A prime example of the motto of IPL “Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi” – “Where talent meets opportunity” is Devdutt Padikkal who got the opportunity to debut for the Indian team recently. The left-handed opener was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2020 for the base price of INR 20 Lakhs.

Soon he caught the eyes of the cricketing world with a half-century in his IPL debut and he also became the highest run-getter of the franchise in 2020. He was awarded the prestigious emerging player of the season for his highest runs by an uncapped IPL debut player.

The youngster hit a century in the 14th edition and after playing 29 matches, he has scored 884 runs with a strike rate of 125.03. He looks like a very good prospect and he would see a massive hike in his auction price soon.

1. Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi, the batter who used to play an anchor role for the Kolkata Knight Riders, has not been retained by the franchise for the future. He has been representing the IPL since 2017 when he first played for the dissolved Rising Pune Supergiants.

Tripathi was picked by KKR in 2020 for INR 60 Lakhs and he had two decent seasons. He has played 62 IPL matches and has hit 1385 runs with a career strike rate of 136.31 and a strike rate of 140.28 in the previous season.

The 30-year-old batter’s batting looks much improved in these two seasons and it is evident from his stats. He seemed like a solid middle-order batter in the previous season as he had his best average and never reduced his strike rate throughout. He would expect better pay for his performance in the previous edition.