Hot Player Picks for 2010 IPL Auction Preview

The game of cricket has never seen the kind of money or the media hype that the introduction of the Indian Premier League has brought to it when it started in 2008. Barely two years old, this "Manoranjan ka Baap" has already revolutionized the way cricketers now look at the sport. After the second season was shifted to the Rainbow nation, the cricket fanatic crowds of India should be in for a grand spectacle as the IPL returns home for its third edition.

IPL 3.0 will kick off in March later this year with the defending champions Deccan Chargers hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening contest. The third edition of this extravagant cricket event promises to be bigger and better with addition of new venues and a whole lot of other changes. Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala

and Vishakapatnam will get the feel of cricket's "Million Dollar Baby" for the first time this year, as they are set to play hosts to a few matches for the Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers respectively.
Changes for 2010

The two-player cap on centrally contracted Aussie players in each IPL team has been scrapped from this year onwards.
A play-off for 3rd place is added as an extra game taking the total tally of matches to 60.
The icon status of five Indian players - Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians), Saurav Ganguly (Kolkata Knight Riders), Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils), Rahul Dravid (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Yuvraj Singh (Kings XI Punjab) which enabled them to pocket 15% more than the highest paid player in their respective teams has been quashed.
The ban on the players who played for the rebel cricket league i.e. ICL has been lifted giving them the opportunity to participate in IPL 3.0.
What is Players' Auction?

The concept of bidding for players in cricket started with the Indian Premier League, which invited corporate giants like Reliance and Bollywood stalwarts like Shah Rukh Khan to buy franchises and sign players up to play for them.

The players' auction for the third edition of the lucrative IPL is set to take place on 19th January, 2009 in Mumbai. The players who wish to take part in the IPL were asked to secure a 'No Objection Certificate' from their respective Cricket Boards and get themselves registered into the IPL Auction, which once completed was sent to all the eight Franchises. The Franchises then picked the players that they'd like to see in the auction and all such players will go under the hammer on the auction day.

A purse of $750,000 each has been allotted to the franchises for them to bid for players. Last year, out of over 100 players who had registered, only 50 were put on auction for the 17 available overseas spots.

The players bought during this year's auction will be available only for season 3 as the next edition will see fresh auctions, after the proposed two new teams are in place. That process is scheduled after the 2nd edition of Champions League in October, 2010.

Team Composition

Minimum Number of players in each squad should be 16 inclusive of the coach and team physio.
A maximum of 10 foreign players are allowed in each squad and among the playing 11, only 4 could be foreign players
There can be no more than 8 local players in each team and only 2 players from the under-22 pool of the BCCI
What's in store for 2010?

The IPL auction 2010 has attracted players not only from the nine test playing nations but also from the associate countries. There were a total of 96 players who had initially registered for a chance to go under the hammer on January 19, 2010. Big bucks attracted a plethora of ICL players to register for the auction as well and there is a lot of excitement about their inclusion in the IPL auction amongst the franchisee owners fraternity . After being sidelined from the second edition, as many as 26 players from Pakistan registered for the auction. Of the original 96, 60 players hae been short-listed by the Franchisees for the auction. That list can be accessed here.

Players to Watch Out

Kieron Pollard: This gigantic Trinidadian took the Champions League T20 by storm with his brutal power display as he single handedly won the game against New South Wales, smacking five huge sixes and five thunderous fours in his 18 ball blitzkrieg. His awesome strength and hard-hitting capabilities make this new KP the most sought after player this season.

Nicky Boje: The South African spinner returned to the limelight by joining the ICL after he had retired from international cricket in 2006. One of the most successful hitters of the ball in the ICL, Boje had 557 runs in his kitty and took 25 wickets for his team the Hyderabad Heroes.

Shane Bond: The New Zealand pace ace recently gave up on the longer version of the game to concentrate on ODIs and T20s. He accepted a three year contract with the ICL team Delhi Giants while recovering from an injury in 2008. While his performance for the Giants was nothing to write home about, picking up 11 wickets in 15 matches, Bond is a genuine match winner with the ball and can do some serious damage when fully fit.

Thisara Perera: The young Sri Lankan all-rounder is the player to watch out for in IPL 3.0. His reputation of making very good use of the long handle back home and in the couple of opportunities he has got so far against India, should make him a good outside bet for being one of the stars for the team that signs him.

Umar Akmal: The aggressive youngster is already touted as the next big thing to have come out of Pakistan cricket. The most striking thing about Umar, younger brother of wicket keeper, Kaman Akmal, is his maturity. His attacking nature and ability to find the gaps make him a mix between Shahid Afridi and Javed Miandad, surely a deadly mix.

Mohammad Aamer: The young sensation Aamer lit up the MCG in the Boxing Day Test with his maiden five-wicket haul. Pakistan has a history of producing quality young fast bowlers and Aamer is another example of that. His pace and accuracy added to his experience of sub-continental tracks make him the top priority of a number of franchises.

Shahid Afridi: The mercurial Pathan will get into any T20 side purely on the basis of his illogical aggression. Though his batting has not set the stage on fire in the past couple of years, Pakistan's T20 captain has established himself as one of the most potent T20 bowlers of his generation.

Eoin Morgan: The busy English middle-order batsman is known for his unorthodox shots. He followed up a very good performance in the Champions Trophy with an even better outing in the bilateral ODI against South Africa. Morgan's experience of the shortest format of the game will come in handy.

Brad Haddin: The Australian wicket-keeper will look to make amends for the two seasons of the cash rich IPL he had missed, when he gets the opportunity to take part in IPL 3.0. After Adam Gilichrist's retirement, Haddin has established himself as the first choice keeper in the Aussie ranks. He is a wonderfully gifted batsman with the ability of clearing the field with ease.

The player auction for the third installment of the Indian Premier League beginning in March is set to take place on Tuesday the 19th of January. The auction will not be as large as the previous two, though there are some big names such as Kieron Pollard, Shahid Afridi, Shane Bond and Mohammad Aamer, among others available .

The franchises have been set a spending cap of $750,000, so bidding will certainly be more planned and conservative, seeing as last year's top bid was a whopping $1.55 million. Most teams have just the one slot open for an overseas player due to the 10-player cap, and that will also serve to reduce the total number of players that will be auctioned. IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had tweeted earlier that he expects 10-12 slots to be free.

Even after 2 years of success, the IPL is still very much in its infancy as far as the business aspect of the franchises is concerned. The way the owners run the franchises is a far cry from the way it is done in, say, the English Premier League, which is the original inspiration for the business model of the IPL. Player trading is far more rampant there and is dictated more by economic viability and other financial factors, whereas in the IPL, it is cricketing reasons more than anything else that are responsible for whatever trades or bidding takes place. Team composition, players' form and other such factors contribute heavily to the squad selection decisions made by the franchise owners, and it will take some time before they get accustomed to running the franchises like a business more than anything else.
Having said that, the forthcoming auction will see teams bidding for players that will bolster those departments that need strengthening, especially since the purchasing power of all franchises is the same at $750,000. They would look to redress those aspects of their composition that turned out weaker in the previous editions of the tournament.

Some players, like Shahid Afridi and Kieron Pollard, are proven match-winners and would be an asset to any side, and hence we can expect some heavy bidding for such names with 3-4 teams locked in the clash. However, with the cap on purchasing power, we may expect a photo finish, with more than 1 team willing to lavish all its money on a single marquee name. It's not clear yet what will be done in this case, but IPL COO Sundar Raman has stated that there is a fair tie-breaker rule in place for this eventuality.

Some sides, like the Delhi Daredevils or the Chennai Super Kings have proved in the previous seasons that that are clearly among the strongest in the competition and have no dearth of match-winners in their ranks. Yet, neither have won the IPL yet, and would want to redress that soon. Besides, they would want to ensure that there are no vacant slots in their squads, and make full use of the 10 overseas players quota.

Let us have a look at what the auction agendas for the 8 teams might be:

Chennai Super Kings
Chennai relies heavily on its batting firepower, and hence certain inadequacies in their bowling are hidden by it. The 3 powerful allrounders Andrew Flintoff, Albie Morkel and Jacob Oram form the cornerstone of their side. However, with Flintoff withdrawing due to injury, Chennai may want to go for one of the clutch of similar big South African allrounders Justin Kemp, Johan Van Der Wath, Rory Kleinveldt, or Zander De Bruyn, as a replacement for the Lancashire star.

New Zealand fireball Bond, Shane Bond has expressed interest in playing under charismatic skipper MSD. With Muralitharan and Makhaya Ntini on the wane, you never know; owners India Cements are known to make the biggest bids, with MSD in the inaugural auction and Flintoff the year after.

Delhi Daredevils:
One cannot really tell who the Daredevils owners GMR may go for, as they already have really fantastic players in all departments. They had players of the caliber of Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah and Glenn McGrath warming the benches for most of the previous season, and anyone they sign this time will probably end up doing the same. That being said, an international star to give competition for fast bowling places may not hurt the side.

Deccan Chargers:
Coming to the title holders, the Deccan Chargers, one clear spot that needs redressal is the spin department. Young Pragyan Ojha is currently the only one shouldering that responsibility, which is increasingly gaining importance, and owners Deccan Chronicle may want to add a slow bowler of international distinction to their arsenal. They just released Afridi, so he's not an option, and hence, in light of his recent exploits in the England-South Africa test series, Graeme Swann might just be the one to get the coveted cash-rich contract. Other options are Saeed Ajmal, Jason Krezja, Nathan McCullum and the world's best ODI allrounder Shakib Al Hasan.

Also, Deccan's batting order possesses just the lone lefthander in skipper Adam Gilchrist, so they might want to add diversity to the lineup by picking one from Phillip Hughes, Thilina Kandamby, Eoin Morgan, Shakib Al Hasan, etc.

Shakib fitting in on both fronts might just give the stand-in Bangladeshi skipper the edge.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Moving on to last year's runners-up, the Royal Challengers of Bangalore, they also have the same one-dimensional batting like the Chargers, with Jesse Ryder being the only southpaw. We could expect flamboyant businessmen Vijay Mallya and Venkatram Reddy to cross swords, when it comes to bidding for the preferred lefthander. They might also want to pick a left-arm seamer, provided a slot exists, as only Nathan Bracken fills that role now, and has no backup. Besides there is a surprising abundance of talent in this particular bracket of the list of players available for auction, and anyone they pick will likely be a great investment. Young and exciting prospects like Mohammad Aamer, Wayne Parnell, Doug Bollinger, Yusuf Abdulla, Chanaka Welegedara and Sohail Tanvir all are worthy contenders for the slot, even as a few other teams may also be eyeing some of these bowlers.

Kings XI Punjab:
The Kings XI Punjab, now led by Kumar Sangakkara, have a well-balanced batting unit that can explode any given day. In the absence of Yusuf Abdulla who contributed well last year, they would probably need another leftarm pacer as a replacement, and could hence challenge the Royal Challengers in the bidding for that slot.

Rajasthan Royals:
The Rajasthan Royals too have lost the services of Sohail Tanvir, who was instrumental to their triumph in the inaugural season. This makes them the third side in need of that left-handed fast bowling option, and Bollywood beauties Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta might pull out all the stops to make sure their wishlist is fulfilled. However, having seen that there are a good 4-5 highly talented players that fit the bill, all teams requiring their services are likely to be satisfied.

The Royals also do not have Pakistan keeper Kamran Akmal in their ranks anymore. They do have two talented youngsters in Naman Ojha and Mahesh Rawat to play that role, but it would be too much to expect boys as raw as these to go the distance in such a hectic tournament. The Royals will be well served to bid for Brad Haddin, the best keeper on offer. However, promising young Irishman Eoin Morgan who now plays for England is also a part-time keeper, apart from being an explosive T20 batsman, and might be a good investment.

Mumbai Indians:
Notice that the biggest name on the auction list hasn't come up yet. Kieron Pollard will be coveted by all the sides for his power hitting that has served Trinidad & Tobago and now the South Australian Redbacks so beautifully. Yet, it is the Mumbai Indians who are in desperate need of that lower-order destroyer, and he would work like a charm. He's the sort of guy who will choose which side is suitable for him rather than the other way. Expect one of the world's richest men, Mukesh Ambani to shell out an obscene amount to pocket this piece of dynamite.

Kolkata Knightriders:
With the local demigod Sourav Ganguly back at the helm, and the street-wise supercoach Dav Whatmore as their taskmaster, the Knightriders will be looking for the turnaround that the Deccan Chargers achieved last year. They are easily the most lopsided side in the competition, with a batting strength to beat the best and massive holes in the bowling. In this context, they need a genuine strike bowler of the pedigree of Shane Bond. Or, they might like to have Umar Gul back as he had served them so well in season 1. Besides, there are blokes like Peter Siddle, Nuwan Kulasekara, Yusuf Abdulla, Doug Bollinger waiting to be picked, apart from the Pakistani fast men Aamer, Rana Naved and Gul.

However, given the flamboyance of owner, Shahrukh Khan, there is the temptation to go for the Pakistani superhero Shahid Afridi, who himself has expressed interest in playing for KKR as well. Besides, this may not be such a bad thing at all; Kolkata can do with any decent bowler at this point, and Afridi's World Cup-winning bowling is more than sufficient, not to mention his demented batting.

This concludes the analysis of what we could expect at the auction. There are a few players who have been missed out here, in particular a bunch of Pakistanis, and would be expected to be bid for. Mercurial young batsman Umar Akmal and ex-ICL superstars Imran Nazir and Abdul Razzaq are the sort of players who can turn the game in the blink of an eye, and would be an asset to any side, so it is difficult to predict who may go for them. It's also improbable that only the KKR bid for Afridi and only the Mumbai Indians for Pollard; they're the sort of guys many teams will be coveting. Also the breakneck pace of Kemar Roach might attract any of the franchise owners.

It must be remembered that all of this is subject to the number of slots the teams have open. The way the auction process works is each team is allowed a maximum of 10 overseas players, and while teams like the Deccan Chargers have only 8 international players on their roles, others like the Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers are already full to capacity. What this means is that the latter can still participate in the process and try to sign the players they want, but will need to trim their squads back down to size in time for the season opener by activating the buy-out clause in their contracts, ala what Delhi did with Glenn McGrath a few weeks ago.