Harsha Bhogle, a veteran Indian commentator has named two players who can fetch the big bucks in IPL 2022. The players’ auction of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is all set to take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. This year, the auction will be bigger as from 2022 onwards, the cash-rich league will be a 10-team affair with two new sides entering the competition.
Notably, all 10 teams were allotted a purse of INR 90 crore, which was utilized firstly by the already existing eight teams, who revealed the list of players they retained ahead of the players’ auction. In total, 27 players have been retained by the teams, which include 19 Indians and 8 overseas. Further, six more players were picked in the drafts by the two new franchises (three players each) – Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
Harsha Bhogle Picked Ishan Kishan For Being A Left-Handed Top Order Keeper And Hope He Fetches Big Bucks In IPL 2022 Mega Auction
Harsha Bhogle first picked explosive opening batter Ishan Kishan, who was released by Mumbai Indians (MI) prior to the auction process. Harsha Bhogle reckoned that Ishan Kishan fulfils three basic requirements – Indian player, left-handed batter and wicketkeeper – which every franchise looks for in the auctions.
“Ishan Kishan, because he ticks off an Indian player, left-hander, wicketkeeper… left-hand top-order wicketkeeper, that’s three boxes you’re looking for,” said Bhogle.
Ishan Kishan was roped in by the Mumbai Indians during the 2018 IPL mega auction and since then has gone on to amass 1133 runs from 45 IPL games. He has been released by the five-time champions and it would be interesting to see whether they would yet again have him on board next month.
In the 14 matches he played for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020, he scored 516 runs at an average of 57.33, including four half-centuries. He also narrowly missed out on a century. In 2021, he underperformed scoring only 241 runs in 10 IPL games averaging a mediocre 26.78.
Harsha Bhogle Said Shahrukh Khan Reminds Him Of Yusuf Pathan
Harsha Bhogle then named Tamil Nadu star Shahrukh Khan, who impressed one and all with his exploits in the Punjab Kings (PBKS) colours in IPL 2021. The veteran commentator felt that Shahrukh Khan, who was not retained by PBKS for the next season, reminds him of explosive batter Yusuf Pathan.
“I’m expecting him to do really well this year because there is a spark about him, and he’s got a huge presence at the crease. He’s big built, a bit like Yusuf Pathan. You know, Yusuf Pathan in his prime when he was batting, he had that presence about him at the crease, and I find a little bit of that in Shahrukh Khan,” added Bhogle.
Shahrukh Khan was signed by the Punjab Kings for INR 5.25 crores in the 2021 IPL auction and in the 11 matches that he got to play, Shahrukh Khan averaged 21.85 and had a strike rate of 134.21. He opted to come into the auction instead of getting retained.