The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been one of the top-most franchise cricket tournaments on the globe right now, in terms of unearthing and developing young talent and also producing top quality games. Every season, the IPL produces one or two star players that rather or later, goes on to play for India. (Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
The upcoming IPL 2025 Mega Auction will again be in the news of young crop of players that the franchises could be targeting for the next year's marquee tournament.
Just as Mayank Yadav and Harshit Rana made their mark in the IPL 2024 and then earn a cap for the national team, which player will repeat the same in 2025?
Here are some names that can be in the mix for the IPL 2025 Mega Auction:
1. Vaibhav Arora
Indian star Harshit Rana's pace-bowling partner Vaibhav Arora at KKR, Vaibhav Arora played a key part in the side's first IPL title since 2014 when the Shreyas Iyer-led side won the Indian Premier League 2024 trophy. Vaibhav is a power play bowler and bowls hard-lengths that could trouble the opposition batter. Vaibhav has the playoff wickets to show for his mettle and that could appease the franchises in the coming IPL 2025 mega auction especially the ones with the lesser money to spend.
2) Nehal Wadhera
The 24-year-old Ludhiana-born Nehal Wadhera, was a breath of fresh air for the Mumbai Indian side last season. The youngster is known to stabilize innings and go 'gung-ho' in the middle-overs. Wadhera possesses a decent IPL pedigree with a strike rate of 140. Despite averaging below 20 last season, Wadhera did make some impact with handy cameos for the MI side.
3) Rasikh Salam Dar
Jammu and Kashmir Rasikh Salam Dar could be India's next emerging talent in pace bowling arsenal after his standout performances in the Asia Emerging Cup 2024, where he bagged nine wickets at an average of 10.33. Rasikh bagged nine wickets in eight IPL games last season, and with a variety in his bowling, franchises could go for the young J&K bowler at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah.
4) Mahipal Lomror
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had a forgetful 2024 IPL season but there were some standout performers with the bat and one of them was the 24-year-old Mahipal Lomror. The all-rounder, who was released by RCB, could spark a bidding fest amongst franchises after his record-breaking 300 off 357 balls in the Ranji Trophy.
5) Ashutosh Sharma
Punjab Kings (PBKS) had some eye-catching matches last season and it could be attributed to Ashutosh Sharma's batting blitzkrieg down the order. Ashutosh possessed a strike rate of 167 last season and it was mostly down to his finishing and power-hitting abilities down the order that made him a star last season. If franchises are looking for a steady batter down the order or a 'pinch-hitter' then the 26-year-old could be the perfect fit.
