New Delhi: The biggest cricket festival of India, i.e., Indian Premier League, is back in the limelight for the upcoming auction on December 19 for the 2024 season. The list of retained players of all the franchises was announced on November 26, with the trade window open till December 12, a week prior to the official auction date. After all the inside trading is done and dusted, franchises have now turned their focus on the official auction in Dubai. Every team has finalised which players they will be going forward with, but one of the most crucial decisions for all teams is going to be which Indian players they would like to have during the auction. Welcome to Dubai! 🌇 We are all set for the #IPLAuction 🔨 The 🏆 in all its glory ✨#IPL pic.twitter.com/BZ2JpT0awP — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) December 17, 2023 A good set of overseas players plays the X-factor role for any team, but a good set of Indian players makes the team more stable in the long run. Interestingly, while all the eyes will be on the overseas players and the likely bidding war they can ignite, the main role will be played by the Indian players and their utility addition to the teams. Let’s take a look at the top 5 Indian players who can interest multiple franchises during the auction. 1] Harshal Patel Harshal Patel, well known as ‘Purple Patel,’ for winning the purple cap, an award presented to the player with the most wickets in a season during the 2021 season, will be one of the names that multiple franchises will be looking for. Harshal, who was traded to RCB from DC, performed exceptionally well in 2021, but since that season, there has been a constant dip in his performance, which led to his release from the RCB squad ahead of the 2024 auction. Harshal Patel has featured in 92 IPL matches so far with a total of 111 wickets under his name, proving he can be a valuable addition to any team that is looking for quality Indian fast bowlers on their side. 2] Shahrukh Khan The 28-year-old, pinch-hitting batting all-rounder from Tamil Nadu, was one of the surprise packets during the 2021 auctions, where the Punjab Kings team bought him for a sum of a whopping Rs 9 crore. Shahrukh featured in 33 matches in his IPL career so far, in which he has scored 426 runs. His stats do not do justice to his stature, as he was forced to bat down the order and get only a fistful of balls to play, but even in that span, he has proved his worth to everyone. Shahrukh getting released by the Punjab Kings came as a surprise move for everyone, and now that the all-rounder will be up for grabs during the 2024 auctions, multiple teams will be gunning to acquire his season in the upcoming season. 3] Shardul Thakur When Chennai Super Kings made their return in the 2018 season after two years of ban, they were looking to add some young Indian pacer in their squad and come in the Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur. Initially, the pacer gained some criticism for leaking runs at crucial moments, but he came a long way under MS Dhoni and became a champion player. He was one of CSK’s most important players in their 2018 and 2021 winning campaigns but had to leave the franchise ahead of the 2022 season due to mega auction restrictions. In his two years away from CSK, he played for DC and KKR, but could not reproduce his performance with them. As a result, he is now in the auction pool for the 2024 season. Shardul has a unique ability to produce a wicket out of nowhere, which comes in very hand, and any team that acquires the medium pacer’s services will have some much-needed depth in both bowling and batting as Shardul can also be a handy batsman in the lower order. 4] Manish Pandey Being one of the veterans of IPL, Manish Pandey does not get much credit for his contributions to IPL and has always found himself on the receiving end of almost every franchise. In his long IPL career, the 34-year-old has been part of a total of seven IPL teams, the latest being the Delhi Capitals. Pandey has featured in 170 IPL matches so far, amassing a total of 3808 runs in the duration. Although the right-arm batsman is now one of the oldest players in the tournament, there are a number of teams who can benefit from Pandey’s experience in their batting line-up. 5] Umesh Yadav The veteran Indian player is going to be one of the most sought-after names in the upcoming auction, as he has both pace and wicket-taking abilities. Umesh Yadav, in his entire IPL career, has featured in a total of 141 matches, taking 136 wickets in the duration. Yadav was part of the RCB squad in the last season but was released as he went through a disastrous season during the 2023 edition. Yadav will be the first-choice player for multiple teams on the Indian fast bowlers list, given his immense experience in the tournament.
