IPL Auction 2022: Expect lesser-known cricketers to strike it rich in the IPL auction

The IPL 2022 mega auction of players will start at 11 am in Bangalore on Saturday and will continue the next day. The list has been pruned based on who the franchises want mentioned by the auctioneer when the process begins. Even if one franchise mentions a player, the name must get included in the auction list. From the total 590 players, 370 are Indians, 220 overseas with seven players from associate ICC nations, 228 players are capped and 355 uncapped.

The rules of the house remain the same, established in 2010. Given the high volume of cricketers, the accelerated auction rule – in place for years now – will be applied. After the top 160 cricketers are sold, only those players who the franchises want mentioned on priority will be brought out. Until the first 160 players are mentioned, the players will be grouped in order of batsmen, pacers, spinners, allrounders and wicketkeeper-batsmen. Uncapped cricketers will be mentioned separately.

WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED? Expect some lesser-known names to turn millionaires between Saturday and Sunday. There are 48 players with a base price of Rs 2 cr (17 Indians), 20 with Rs 1.5 cr (3 Indians), 34 with a base price of Rs 1 cr (10 Indians), 25 cricketers with a base price of Rs 75 lakh (5 Indians) – a total of 127 players. The remaining 463 cricketers have a base price between Rs 20-50 lakh. What makes for the cream? Demand for captains, openers and wicketkeeper-batsmen, followed by the rest of the team.

These are the players who will be in great demand (see box) because spending will have to be judicious. The likes of Ishan Kishan, Warner, Shreyas Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Jason Holder, Trent Boult and more will be the obvious ones. U-19 star Rajyavardhan Hangargekar, U-19