IPL Auction 2022: Indian Uncapped Players to Watch For

12-13 Feb 2022 are going to be two very important dates in the cricketing community as we’re going to witness the IPL 2022 Mega Auction and it’s probably going to be the biggest auction the tournament has ever seen till date. With 590 players set to go under the hammer and 49 of them being in the top base price category of Rs.2 Crore, we’re bound to have some fun watching this event.

And while everyone has their eyes on the big boys who have listed themselves in the top categories, we’re looking for the smaller names, the Indian players who are yet to make international debuts but are still likely to be gold mines in this IPL 2022 Auction. We’re taking you through our top picks of uncapped Indian players to watch out for in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. See here:

1) Shahrukh Khan

He’s someone who will be on the wishlist of many IPL franchises. He’s known to be a T20 specialist and has been super consistent in the domestic circuit, which also recently earned him a callup to the national side for the ongoing West Indies tour of India 2022. The six-hitting finisher has a strike rate of 180+ in the last two editions of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and a strike rate of nearly 140 in the last two editions of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. He played for Punjab Kings in the IPL and has a strike rate of 153 in 10 innings so far.

2) Raj Bawa

You may have not heard of this name before but he has been sensational for the recent India U-19 team that ended victorious in the 2022 U-19 CWC in West Indies. The all-rounder has a little bit of Yuvraj Singh in him, with the ability to produce some big sixes as well as take crucial wickets. In the final, he bagged a 5-fer and scored runs too, winning the Man of the Match award. He also scored the highest individual score of the tournament, getting 162* against Uganda U-19.

3) Rahul Tripathi

One of our personal favourites, this guy is a consistent run scorer at the top of the innings and we feel that Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t use him in the best way over the last couple of seasons. With a strike rate of 136 in his IPL career so far, runs flow from his bat in the powerplay period and he can even turn it on if needed to do the slogging and big hitting too. In local tournaments, it is said that he has struck six sixes in an over, TWICE!

4) Lalit Yadav

This spinning all-rounder played for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 and when you see 4 wickets in 7 games and only a highest of 22* with the bat, you may wonder why we’re including his name here?! He has a career strike rate of 143 in T20 cricket and with the ball, goes at an economy rate of below 7, which is brilliant for this format. No one has had a higher batting strike rate than him in the SMAT tournament over the last two seasons (203) and we think he’ll fetch much more than his last IPL contract of Rs.20 Lakh!

5) Avesh Khan

We knew he was good when we saw Avesh Khan in the U-19 category itself but injuries have plagued his career so far and is yet to make it big. However, he was sensational in IPL 2021 for Delhi Capitals even though he could’ve been shadowed by big international names like Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada. With 24 wickets in 16 games last season, he ended as the second highest wicket-taker in the season and has had a good run in the domestic circuit since then as well.