After all the big moves and releases from the 10 franchises in the trade window - the highlight of which was Hardik Pandya being dramatically snapped up by Mumbai Indians and named captain - the Indian Premier League 2024 mini-auction is set to get underway in Dubai's Coca Cola Arena on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. (IPL Auction Live Blog | Streaming | Cricket News)
It is the first time that the IPL auction will be held outside Indian shores. The Dubai venue is located in the City Walk area United Arab Emirates, and is mostly known to host music concerts and big events. In that setting, it would be interesting to see what unfolds at the auction tables. The franchises could be more than willing to take a punt on talented but raw Indian players. Let's take a look at five such promising youngsters.
Shahrukh Khan
The swashbuckling right-handed Tamil Nadu batter Shahrukh Khan has always been on the radar given his big-hitting and finishing abilities. He began the IPL 2022 auction with a base price of INR 40 Lakh, and after a bidding war between Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings, PBKS eventually got hold of him for INR 9 Crore. Shahrukh was released by PBKS ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, and is likely to be much sought after.
Ramandeep Singh
Punjab medium-pacer Ramandeep Singh was in the Mumbai Indians squad for the last two seasons, and made five appearances during the 2022 edition. The 26-year-old picked up six wickets, including a three-wicket haul against Sunrisers Hyderabad, though in a losing cause. He also showed his finishing prowess in the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare domestic tournaments.
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Arshin Kulkarni
As a medium-pace bowling all-rounder, not only is Arshin Kulkarni a rare commodity in Indian cricket, he is also just 18 years of age - raw and raring to shine. The youngster exhibited his clean-hitting ability in the Maharashtra Premier League and followed it up with some blazing knocks in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 121 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 163.51 as an opener.
Kartik Tyagi
From the same batch as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravi Bishnoi, Tilak Varma and Dhruv Jurel in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup, seamer Kartik Tyagi was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2020 season for INR 1.3 Crore. He bagged nine wickets in his maiden stint, playing 10 games. Sunrisers Hyderabad bid INR 4 crore to get him in the 2022 auction and retained him for the 2023 season as well, before releasing the 23-year-old ahead of the 2024 auction.
Vivrant Sharma
Southpaw Vivrant Sharma generated considerable buzz after being bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 2.20 crore in the 2023 IPL auction. The 24-year-old from Jammu scored a half-century in his only innings there. He scored a superb 144 against Mizoram and a fighting 83 against Uttarakhand during the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy. Vivrant can also bowl wrist spin, which might make him an in-demand uncapped Indian player in the upcoming auction.
