Team-wise one batsman who can be picked in the IPL 2021 auction

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to host the highly-anticipated mini-auction for the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Chennai on February 18, 2021. In view of the upcoming auction, all eight franchises have been making strategies and plan to rope in their desired players that can help cover the loopholes in their teams and help them win the coveted T20 Trophy in 2021.

The player registration window for IPL 2021 closed on February 14, 2021, and as many as 1097 players including 814 from India and 283 overseas players have signed up for the marquee event. The franchises would come prepared regarding which players to aim for.

In this article, let’s take a look at team-wise one batsman who can be picked in IPL 2021 Auction:

1. CSK – Marnus Labuschagne

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had a torrid run in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and one of the main reasons behind the same was their slow run-rate especially in the middle overs. To fill that gap, the three-time champions would be looking for an able middle-order batsman and Marnus Labuschagne can be a perfect fit for the same.

With Ruturaj Gaikwad opening the innings for Chennai alongside Faf du Plessis, and Suresh Raina coming in after the fall of one wicket, Labuschagne can help by keeping his wicket intact and ticking the scoreboard. In addition, he can chip in a few overs for the team as a right-arm leg-spin bowler.

Also, since Shane Watson has announced his retirement from the Indian league, Marnus can act as a perfect replacement for the veteran.

 2. RCB – Dawid Malan

The number one ranked batsman in the T20 batsmen’s rankings by International Cricket Council (ICC) Dawid Malan can be considered as a late bloomer in the international circuit. In recent years he has established himself as one of the best batsmen in the shortest format of the game. So far, in 19 T20Is he has scored 855 runs at an average of 53.44 and a stunning strike rate of 149.

In his 19 T20I innings, the left-hander has a whopping ten 50+ scores including a century. In addition, Malan likes to bat at no.3 or open the innings but can move down the order if required. Thus, he can be a perfect inclusion to Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) star-studded batting line-up.

After releasing Aaron Finch, the Bangalore outfit will be looking for a new opening batsman and no one can be better than Dawid Malan to essay that job alongside their highest run-getter of IPL 2020, Devdutt Padikkal.

3. SRH – KS Bharat

Sunrisers Hyderabad need an able wicketkeeper-batsman in their squad who can perform decently both with the gloves and bat if they decide to bench Jonny Bairstow and Wriddhiman Saha is unavailable. Hyderabad have often faced the dilemma of choosing one between Kane Williamson and Bairstow as they have their other three overseas slots filled in the form of Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, and David Warner.

In such circumstances, Bairstow gets an edge over Kane as he can also perform the duties of a keeper. Though other keeper Saha had performed brilliantly in IPL 2020 for SRH but had succumbed to an injury towards the end which had caused great problems for the team. Thus, this time, the Orange Army will be keen on adding a competent wicketkeeper-batsman to their squad.

Someone like KS Bharat could come in handy for Hyderabad as he has a good knowledge of the conditions in Hyderabad and has decent numbers to his name in domestic cricket. Thus far, Bharat has featured in 48 T20 fixtures scoring 730 runs at an average of 17.8.

4. KXIP – Ben Cutting

In the upcoming auction, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will be looking forward to rebuilding their squad. After releasing New Zealand’s James Neesham from the team, KXIP can look forward to roping in a competent pace all-rounder in the form of Australia’s Ben Cutting. He will likely be available for a low price which would allow Punjab to invest more in other areas.

Cutting has some stunning numbers to his name in the shortest format of the game and was in an exemplary form in the just-concluded 2020-21 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). Playing for Sydney Thunder, Ben scored 280 runs at a strike rate of 156.42 and chipped in with 3 wickets while conceding runs at an economy rate of less than 8.

In his career thus far, the 34-year-old has featured in 166 T20 games scoring a whopping 2319 runs at an average of 23.4 and a terrific strike rate of 150.19. He has also picked up 127 wickets at a strike rate of 21.1. Thus Ben Cutting can be a useful addition for KXIP and can solve their problem of scoring runs towards the end of the innings.

5. KKR – Colin Munro

New Zealand’s Colin Munro can be considered as a destructive opening batsman and boasts of having an impressive international record in the shortest format of the game. In 65 matches, he has scored 1724 runs at an average of 31.3 and strike rate of 156.4. In addition, the batsman is known for playing spinners well which can help him in IPL.

The New Zealander was in terrific form in the 2020-21 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) as he scored a whopping 443 runs including four half-centuries in 15 innings at a strike rate of 128.03 and average of 31.64 for franchise Perth Scorchers. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) need a good opening batsman in their team.

Shubman Gill had done an excellent job for the Knight Riders in the last season but couldn’t get a good partner as KKR kept on experimenting with the other opening slot. Thus, there is a good chance that KKR can bid for an experienced opener like Colin Munro.

6. RR – Alex Hales

England’s right-handed opening batsman Alex Hales can earn a staggering amount of money in the upcoming IPL auction for the 2021 edition with a team like Rajasthan Royals (RR) going behind him. Hales was in splendid form in the just-concluded 2020-21 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) for Sydney Thunder.

He was the highest run-getter in the marquee tournament with a whopping 543 runs under his belt in 15 games at an average of 38.78 and strike rate of 161.60. Along with that, Hales had also broken Marcus Stoinis’ record of hitting most sixes in a BBL season by smashing 30 sixes in the 2020-21 edition.

Rajasthan’s regular opening batsman Jos Buttler had performed brilliantly as a finisher towards the business end of IPL 2020 while they have traded Robin Uthappa to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Thus, RR are in a dire need of a good opening batsman who can give a dream start to the team in crunch matches.

7. DC – Glenn Maxwell

Australia’s explosive all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is yet to make a mark for himself in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The batsman is renowned as one of the most successful and destructive finishers in the international circuit. In 67 T20I matches, Maxwell has hammered 1687 runs at an average of 33.1 and strike rate of 157.9.

For the same reason, despite not living up to the expectations of the franchises in the IPL in the past, he can fetch a good contract for himself. Delhi Capitals (DC) can bid for the Australian all-rounder as he can come in handy in bowling some off-spin deliveries along with essaying the role of a finisher.

The Capitals had shown interest in Glenn during the 2020 auction too but had lost the bidding war to Kings XI Punjab as the latter had brought the all-rounder for a whopping INR 10 crores. In addition, with Ricky Ponting as the head coach, Maxwell has a real chance to be picked by Delhi.

8. MI – Vishnu Vinod

The defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) boasts of having the most efficient and skilled squad among all the teams. They already have a terrific batting order in form of Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma opening the innings followed by Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, and Krunal Pandya.

So instead of spending money on buying any celebrated batsman in the upcoming auction, Mumbai may rope in domestic heroes like Vishnu Vinod as a backup and will be keener on spending money in buying an efficient overseas pacer. Vishnu Vinod had a brief stint for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2017 IPL. But he featured in only three matches and could manage only a mere 19 runs at 6.33.

So far, the 27-year-old has played 36 T20 games in the domestic circuit and has amassed 951 runs at an average of 30.7 and strike rate of 138.6.