The auction for the 2022 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to take place in January, next year. The existing eight franchises have announced their retention list already and the two new franchises are supposed to announce their first three picks by the end of this month as well.
There are many big names which have been released into the auction pool and that's why franchises might start a bidding war to acquire their services during the auction.
But the same could happen for some Indian domestic players as well, especially for the ones who have delivered eye-catching performances consistently in the last couple of seasons of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.
Here we shall take a look at some of those names.
Tanmay Agarwal
The 26-year-old had an excellent outing in this Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 season. He finished as the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 334 runs to his name, at an excellent average and strike-rate of 55.66 and 148.44 respectively. He opens the innings, bats left-handed and is capable of playing big shots incessantly.
He hit the most number of fours (35) among all batters in the tournament and hit 12 sixes as well, all of this in just seven matches. He scored four fifties, including a best score of 97*, and played a pivotal role in Hyderabad's run to the semifinals.
Deepak Hooda
He is quite a familiar name with plenty of IPL experience under his belt. Hooda has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket over the years as well and he had a terrific time in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 season. Batting at Number 4 for Rajasthan, Hooda amassed 294 runs at an average of 73.50 and an outstanding strike-rate of 168.
He smashed four fifties, three of which came in consecutive matches, and carried the weight of their batting on his shoulders throughout the tournament.
His batting performance was the main reason they could make it to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Deepak Hooda can be a dangerous finisher.
image: BCCI
Jitesh Sharma
The 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter played a pivotal role in Vidarbha's run to the semifinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Jitesh batted mainly in the middle-order, between Number 3 and 5, and amassed 214 runs at a mind-boggling strike-rate of 235.16.
He averaged 53.50 to go with that as well. The demand for lower middle-order batters who can score at a brisk rate will be quite high in the auctions and he provides wicket-keeping value as well.
Multiple teams could be looking at him as a backup option for their squads.
Tilak Verma
While Tanmay Agarwal did the job at the top of the order for Hyderabad, Tilak Verma also played a crucial role batting at Number 3 Verma amassed 215 runs in 7 innings, including two fifties. He maintained a high strike-rate of 147.26 as well. His best score of 75 came in their win against Gujarat in the quarterfinals.
He walked out to bat in the third over and played right until the end of the innings, ending up with an overall strike-rate of 150 during that knock.
Abhinav Manohar
A product of the Karnataka Premier League, Manohar made his debut for Karnataka in the pre-quarterfinals of this Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 season and made an instant impact. He played an excellent hand of 70* off just 49 deliveries on debut, also a knockout match, to help his side chase down a target of 150.
He walked out to bat with Karnataka in huge trouble at 34/3, but he showed great nerves to chase down the target from such a tricky situation. That wasn't his only valuable contribution, though. He scored 46 off 37 balls in the final against Tamil Nadu, from a situation where his side was struggling at 3/32 once again.
In both of these innings, Manohar has shown great composure, temperament and accelerating ability at the same time. Overall, he amassed 162 runs during the season, at an average of 54 and strike-rate of 150.
Shahrukh Khan
He is another young player who has already made a name for himself in the IPL and he shot himself further to fame when he helped his stateside Tamil Nadu to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) title with a six off the last ball in the final.
He scored an unbeaten 33 off just 15 deliveries during that innings, batting at Number 6. The 26-year-old has flourished in the role of a lower middle-order power hitter in the last two years with Tamil Nadu and has played a couple of good knocks for Punjab Kings in the IPL as well.
In IPL 2021, Shahrukh amassed 153 runs at a strike-rate of 134.21 batting in the lower middle-order. He did the same job for Tamil Nadu in SMAT 2021 as well, amassing a total of 101 runs at an average of 33.66 and strike-rate of 157.81.
Avesh Khan
He isn't an unknown commodity anymore. Avesh was a vital cog of Delhi Capitals' pace attack in the IPL 2021 season, with 24 wickets to his name at an average of 18.75. He also got called up into India's T20 squad for the home series against New Zealand on the back of his fabulous performance in the IPL but he did get a chance to make his debut.
Now that he has been released by the Capitals into the auction pool, multiple teams will be interested in acquiring his services. Delhi will try their best to get him back too and that's why it could end up in a massive bidding war for him.
Rahul Tripathi
He shot himself to fame with a terrific performance for Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL 2017 season. Tripathi scored 391 runs in that edition as the Supergiants made it to the final as well. But a move to the Rajasthan Royals didn't allow him enough gametime at the top of the order and he couldn't make enough impact as a result of that.
Rahul Tripathi celebrates after hitting the winning runs
Image: BCCI
However, he is back in the reckoning once again after an excellent IPL 2021 season with the Kolkata Knight Riders during which he amassed 397 runs at a strike-rate of 140.28, batting mostly at Number 3. His aggressive batting in the middle-overs gave KKR a much-needed impetus in that stage and his superb performance was one of the main reasons why they could make it to the final as well.
Released into the auction pool ahead of the 2022 edition, franchises will be looking to acquire him as one of their main top-order batters.
Darshan Nalkande
The talented Vidarbha pacer has been a part of the Punjab Kings setup for the last two seasons but he hasn't been given any chance to prove his mettle in the IPL yet. Nalkande has been a consistent wicket-taker at the domestic level with 43 wickets to his name in just 22 T20s, going at a superb average of 12.76.
He also made an impact in the semifinals of this Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season as he claimed four wickets off consecutive deliveries in the last over of the innings against Karnataka, while conceding just a solitary run in that over. He finished the season with a total of 13 wickets, going at a mean economy rate of 5.88.
R Sai Kishore
He is another domestic star who is yet to get any game time in the IPL, despite being with the Chennai Super Kings setup for two seasons. Sai Kishore came up through the Tamil Nadu Premier League and has been a crucial part of the state side since then.
The 25-year-old left-arm spinner has played 38 T20s so far and has picked up 43 wickets at an average of 17.39. He has maintained a superb economy rate of 5.46 as well.
He was the star for Tamil Nadu in this Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final once again, as he registered a superb spell of 4-0-12-3 to rattle the Karnataka top-order.
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