IPL Auction: 5 English Stars Likely to Make an Impact in 2017

A look at five English players who are likely to make the biggest impact in the IPL auction this year.

Barring a few players, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has always been bereft of the effervescence of English cricketers through the nine seasons. Played in peak summer, the IPL conflicts with the start of the English cricket season which is why Indian audiences have missed out on witnessing regular participation from their star cricketers in the T20 championship.

This season though, the English cricket season begins a little late and many players from the country have made themselves available for the IPL auction, to be held on 20 February. Even though they wont be available to play the entire season, as many as nine English cricketers will be up for grabs on Monday; many for the first time.

Here’s a look at five English players who are likely to make the biggest impact in the IPL auction 2017.

1. Eoin Morgan

England’s limited-overs skipper has been on fire in recent times. Be it his match-winning performance in the Big Bash League where he smashed a scintillating 71 for the Sydney Thunders or his heroics on England’s tour of India, Eoin Morgan seems to be in the form of his life.

Even as recent as last week, the attacking left-hander struck an unbeaten 80 while playing for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League and took his side to a comfortable victory.

Having played in varied conditions, Morgan’s experience will be an asset for any team. Having put away the ghosts of his horrible performance in the IPL last year which led to his exclusion from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side, the batsman is all set to commence a new chapter in his IPL journey.

2. Ben Stokes

The most fancied all-rounder in the current generation; Ben Stokes’ ability to smash the ball out of the park and bowl yorkers and slower ones in death overs easily makes Stokes one of the most fancied buys at the auction.

Time and again, Stokes has shown his penchant for playing game-changing knocks and of late, has been performing well across formats - his counter-attacking 258 against South Africa at Cape Town last year is testimony to that.

With the ball too, Stokes has shown tremendous improvement despite a horror show in the last over of last year’s World T20. He bowls cutters, slower balls and yorkers perfectly and will be a real handful on Indian pitches.

3. Jason Roy

The dashing English opener has swiftly established himself as one of the batting mainstays in the team post their disastrous 2015 World Cup campaign.

Roy found his calling when he scored two hundreds in the ODI series against Sri Lanka last year, including a career-best 162. Ever since, he’s been growing from strength to strength by virtue of his confident stroke play and an ability to play all the shots from the modern cricket book. He already has the experience of playing in 134 T20 games and has struck four centuries and 21 half-centuries in them.

With a lot of IPL sides struggling to find a solid and attacking opener to make an impact straightaway, Jason Roy will be their perfect choice.

4. Chris Woakes

Although he’s often labelled as being more suited for red ball cricket, Chris Woakes has certainly been one of the most impressive cricketers in recent times. The right-arm fast bowler has great ability to swing the new ball and bowl accurate yorkers with the old one. He is also a very handy bat and will provide an extra cushion to the tail of any team.

Woakes may go for runs at times, but he certainly does have the knack of snaring crucial wickets, especially during powerplays which certainly makes him a valuable proposition.

5. Jonny Bairstow

The wicket-keeper batsman was very impressive in England’s five-Test tour to India recently and may well be the surprise bid in this auction. Although some chinks have been found in his wicket-keeping, Bairstow’s polished batting more than makes up for it.

Unlike his counterpart Jos Buttler, Bairstow doesn’t go hammer and tongs from the word go and has the ability to build an innings; especially when there has been a collapse. He has a solid technique, strong arms and can clear the fence when required. With many teams having a fragile middle-order, Jonny Bairstow can be the perfect package for them.