IPL Auction 2016 : Focus On Yuvraj ,Watson, Pietersen & Finch

Who will be the hot picks for IPL 2016 ?
Who will be the hot picks for IPL 2016 ?

Internet Desk : A host of stars will go under the hammer as the auction for  IPL 2016  take place in Bengaluru tomorrow. 12 players have been placed in the Rs 2 crore bracket including some big names like Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson, Ashish Nehera and Australian opener Michael Hussey.

Teams have a total salary purse of  Rs 66 crores for the 2016 season. Pune and Rajkot have 27 crore in their purse. Delhi have the highest  budget (36.85crore) while Mumbai have the lowest budget 14.405. The budget of the remaining teams are KKR (17.95) ,Punjab(23), Sunrisers (30.15) RCB(21.625).

Mumbai Indians have retained the highest number of players (19) while Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad have retained 15 players each. Sunil Narine who was recently cleared by ICC for a revamped bowling action has been retained by the Shah Rukh Khan owned franchise.

Here is the list of few players who could be the hot picks in the auction.

Yuvraj Singh : The dashing southpaw who  has  been selected  in India’s T20  World  Cup squad  will be the player to watch out for . Yuvraj  was released by Delhi daredevils  last season  after being bought for a whopping sum of 16 crore. Yuvraj has earlier played for four teams, Kings XI Punjab, Pune Warriors India, Royal Challengers Bangalore and last but not the least Delhi Daredevils. Yuvraj has over 2000 runs in the IPL and also has 35 wickets including two hatricks in his tally. Yuvraj recently was in superb  form and played a crucial role  in  the T20 series win  Down Under .

Kevin Pietersen : The England discard could grab the eyeballs in the auction. Having dropped from the national side , he has been playing the various T20 leagues including the Carribean Premier League and Big Bash. Pietersen was in brilliant form for the Melbourne Stars , as he ended up being the third highest run getter in the tournament.

Aaron Finch :  The T20 captain of Australian team would be eager to prove his mettle after being  released by defending champions Mumbai Indians. Finch scored 74 in his last outing against India. With a base price of 2 crore the Australian would surely attract a heavy bidding war.

Shane Watson : The 34 years old had spent eight seasons with Rajasthan Royals But after the Rajasthan franchise was banned Watson is now without a team. Watson has smacked a blistering 124 of 71 balls in the last T20 match against India. He could also prove to be handy bowler with his medium pace.

Dale Steyn : The South African fast bowler  was not in the best of form due to  injury  last year but on his day he can be dangerous. The pacer has 92 wickets under his name and would surely be one of the most wanted players in the auction.

Usman Khawaja : Having scored 345 runs in four matches in the Big Bash for the Sydney Thunders with an astonishing average of 172.50 and strike rate of 163.50  will surely be one of the most hottest picks .With a base price of 1.5 crore Khawaja would attract some

Other names who could be attract  highest bids  are Matt Henry, Martin Guptill, Jos Butler. Henry has been New Zealand’s most successful bowler with 23 wickets from 6 ODIs and 2 T20s. Jos Butler will be making his IPL debut. He recently scored a century against the South Africa. He is also the wicketkeeper of England.

Two new teams Rising Pune SuperGiants  and Gujarat Lions  have come on board for this season. Dhoni will lead the Pune side while the Rajkot based franchise will be captained by Suresh Raina. The two new franchises have already bought five players each in the IPL draft last year . Rising Pune SuperGiants have roped in Dhoni , Ashwin , Du Plesis ,Steve Smith and Rahane  while Raina , McCullum , Jadeja , Bravo and Faulkner will don Gujarat Lions jersey .