IPL 2024 Auction: Five Unexpected Players Who Could Start a Bidding War

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is known for producing new stars with every edition. Team analysts spend countless hours working out the perfect players to form a well-rounded team each season. This results in many interesting bidding wars over unexpected players, considering their ability to balance out any squad. The IPL 2024 auction is sure to see more such tussles among the teams. Teams will be looking to invest in the future and bring younger players into their fold. The mini-auction gives them the perfect opportunity to do so. They can go for some lesser-fancied names and see if they want to build a team around them ahead of the mega auction in future.

Here are five dark horses who could steal the spotlight in the upcoming auction:

David Willey

After announcing his retirement from international cricket, English pacer David Willey is all set to shift his focus to franchise cricket. Though disputes with the board caused Willey's early retirement from the England fold, he still has a lot of cricket left in him.

Willey's consistent bowling was one of the only bright sparks in England's below-par 2023 ODI World Cup campaign. The left-arm fast bowler has 51 T20I and six IPL wickets to his name. But he has been relatively economical in his 11 IPL matches so far, going for just 7.56 an over. He will be an asset for sides looking for some variation in their pace attack.

Daryl Mitchell

New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell has shown how much he loves playing in subcontinent conditions during the Kiwis' 2023 ODI World Cup campaign. A middle-order batter who isn't afraid to go after the bowling from the start, Mitchell is especially lethal against spinners. His role in the New Zealand team is as an anchor who comes down the