The final list of players who will go under the hammer in the upcoming IPL auctions on January 27 and 28 has been pruned from 1,122 who expressed interest to 578. Out of this, 360 are Indian players and 218 foreign. With a total of 18 players already retained by the eight franchises, and there being squad size limit of 25, a maximum of 182 players (out of the 578) will be traded during the event in Bengaluru.
Of these, as many as 16 marquee players - each with a base price of INR 2 crore - are likely to spark a lot of attention from the franchises. Previous auction's biggest name - Ben Stokes - is likely to be one of the most sought-after names once again, despite his recent off-field troubles. But franchises could also turn their attention to proven T20 game-changers like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Shakib Al Hasan and Glenn Maxwell. For franchises that are looking for openers, there are some Indian marquee options in Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane, each of who can be retained by their respective franchises via Right To Match (RTM) card.
For sides that intend on building a core with experienced Indian players could turn their attention to the senior likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh. Ashwin cannot be retained by CSK via RTM option as they've already retained three capped Indian players (Dhoni, Raina and Jadeja), but the skipper Dhoni revealed on Friday that they will go all out to get their man back in the ranks. Dhoni also reiterated that two more marquee players - Faf du Plessis and Bravo - are in the team's radar. It remains to be seen if Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad show similar intent with Harbhajan and Yuvraj respectively, or look elsewhere.
Away from the usual names that turn heads, teams could also have a look at slightly unconventional but solid T20 options in Kane Williamson and Joe Root, who makes his IPL auction debut this year. Among the 16 marquee players, there is also one (Mitchell Starc) capable of leading the any of the eight bowling attacks - and should lead to a tussle.
Apart from the marquee players, some others too have set their base price as INR 2 crore. Amongst these, Yuzvendra Chahal could be one chased by multiple franchises. The wrist spinner has done a fine job for RCB for a few years and enjoyed a successful 2017 in India colours. Others in this list include KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa and Karn Sharma - each with considerable IPL experience.