IPL 2022 Auction: Best XI Of Indian Players Available For Retention By Two New Teams

The Indian Premier League will be a 10-team affair from the next edition onwards. Two new teams i.e., Ahmedabad and Lucknow have been added as the tournament is going to get bigger and better. For those of you who don’t know a Mega Auction 2022 is going to be held next year ahead of the 2022 edition.

The eight existing teams have announced their retention list, which includes both overseas as well as Indian players. The two new teams are also allowed to pick three players from the released players’ list. The rest of the squad will be picked from the Mega Auctions 2022.

So far, the franchises have bought 27 players and out of those, 19 are Indians, while eight of them are overseas. A lot of Indian players will go under the hammer in the upcoming Mega Auctions 2022. The two new IPL teams will also be looking to make a solid Indian squad from this set of players.

In this article, we take a look at the best XI Indian players available for retention by two new teams.

IPL 2022 Auction: Best XI of Indian Players Available For Retention By Two New Teams:

KL Rahul

Perhaps, no other batsmen have been as consistent as KL Rahul since his arrival at Punjab Kings in IPL. He has scored the bulk of the runs for Punjab for the last four years in the Indian Premier League. He was the third-highest run-scorer in IPL 2021, having managed to score 626 runs in 13 matches at an average of 62.60. However, Punjab Kings couldn’t benefit from KL Rahul’s contributions as they consistently failed to reach the playoffs.

Ahead of the next edition of the tournament, KL Rahul has parted ways with the franchise. He will be playing for a new franchise from next year. And, if reports are to be believed, KL Rahul is likely to lead the Lucknow team from the next edition of the Indian Premier League.

Shikhar Dhawan

Since making his comeback to Delhi Capitals, Shikhar Dhawan has scored a plethora of runs for the franchise. He was Delhi’s leading run-scorer for three consecutive seasons. Dhawan formed a wonderful opening partner in Prithvi Shaw and the duo gave the team an exceptional start in the powerplay overs. He was the franchise’s highest run-scorer in IPL 2021.

But Delhi Capitals didn’t retain the veteran batsman for the next edition. Prithvi Shaw was given the nod ahead of him, which means that Dhawan will, once again, go back into the auction pool. Keeping in mind his record in IPL in the last few years, he is certainly going to cause a bidding war.

Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill showed an aggressive approach in the second leg of the IPL 2021 as compared to the India leg of the tournament. He looked sublime and gave the team powerful starts. Overall, he managed to score 478 runs in 17 matches at an average of 28.11.

Several times in the past, the members of the KKR’s team management termed Gill as the future captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Surprisingly, he wasn’t included in KKR’ retention list for the next edition of the tournament. Between him and Venkatesh Iyer, the franchise went ahead with the services of Shubman Gill.

Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t want to release Shubman Gill but, unfortunately, they had to. The runner’s up of IPL 2021 will try their best to bring him back in the mega auctions.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer is no longer a part of the Delhi Capitals ahead of the upcoming edition of the tournament. He has made a significant impact for the franchise during his stint. He took over the leadership duties midway during the tournament in 2018.

Under his leadership, Delhi Capitals reached playoffs for two consecutive seasons. Besides, Iyer scored a plethora of runs for the franchise while batting in the middle-order. Ahead of the 2022 Mega Auction, a lot of franchisees will be having their eyes on him.

Shreyas Iyer missed out on the India leg of IPL 2021 due to a shoulder injury. He made his comeback in the second leg and scored 175 runs in 8 matches at an average of 35.00.

Ishan Kishan

Prior to the announcement of the retention list by the IPL franchises, several reports suggested that Mumbai Indians would retain Ishan Kishan for the next edition. However, as it turned out, Suryakumar Yadav was given the nod ahead of him. It means that Ishan Kishan will find himself in the Mega Auctions.

There is a big chance that Ishan Kishan might be picked by one of the new franchises. The southpaw is an explosive hitter of the ball and has the ability to turn the game around in just a few overs. He, however, had an indifferent outing in the 2021 edition of the tournament. He scored 241 runs in 10 matches at an average of 26.77.

Hardik Pandya

It won’t be wrong to say that Mumbai Indians would be disappointed to release Hardik Pandya for the next edition of the tournament. There are a lot of Indian players who match Hardik Pandya’s skillset in the game.

He is a destructive hitter of the bowl who can hit the big shots right from the onset of his innings. Besides, he gives the option of the sixth bowler and sometimes the fifth bowler in the bowling unit. Hardik Pandya rose to fame on the back of his telling performances in the Indian Premier League. He had a phenomenal outing in the 2020 edition of the tournament but couldn’t replicate similar performances in 2021.

Unfortunately, his current performances don’t give the team a lot of confidence. And, add to that, he is also recovering from his back problem, which isn’t allowing him to bowl. Having said that, several franchises would still be interested in buying his services for the next edition of the tournament.

Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya has been a consistent performer for Mumbai Indians in IPL. Over the years, he has played some impactful knocks and bowled match-winning spells with the ball. His ability to contribute with both bat and ball gives a balance to the team.

Krunal Pandya, however, hasn’t fared too well in the last couple of years. His number were disappointing in IPL 2021. In 14 matches, he managed to pick only 4 wickets and score 143 runs. Pandya wasn’t retained by Mumbai Indians for the next edition. He is likely to play for a new franchise next year.

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t have the best of the outings for Delhi Capitals in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. He picked only 7 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 47.28. As a result, the was released by Delhi Capital for the next edition.

Axar Patel was given the nod ahead of him. Ravichandran Ashwin will, once again, find himself at the auction pool. There is no doubt about Ashwin’s ability. He is one of the best spinners going around in the world and several franchises would be interested in buying his services at the auctions.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

There is no denying the fact that Bhuvneshwar Kumar has lost his pace and doesn’t swing the ball as much as he used to in the past. India trusted in his ability and selected him for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. However, Kumar couldn’t live up to the expectations. He looked far from his best in the tournament opener against Pakistan.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s performances for SRH in the last couple of years in IPL haven’t been too inspiring either. In IPL 2021, he managed to take only 6 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 55.83. As expected, he was released by SRH ahead of the next edition of the tournament. Nevertheless, the Indian pacer is still likely to fetch a good amount of money in the mega-auctions, given the vast experience he has in the cash-rich league.

Yuzvendra Chahal

RCB surprised one and all after releasing their premier spinner Yuzvendra Chahal ahead of the mega auctions. He has been their first-choice spinner for RCB for several years. Chahal won a plethora of games for RCB on the back of his match-winning spells. However, it looks like that RCB isn’t interested to continue with the leggie. Yuzvendra Chahal is one of the players who is likely to attract high bids at the auctions.

Mohammed Shami

Punjab Kings retained only two players ahead of the Mega Auctions next year. They chose to retain Mayank Agarwal and young seamer Arshdeep Singh in the team. Surprisingly, PBKS chose to release their Mohammed Shami from the team.

Shami bowled pretty well in the second leg of IPL 2021 in UAE. He was outstanding both in the powerplay as well in death overs. He finished the season with the most wickets for Punjab, picking 19 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 20.79.