IPL 2022 Auction: Star India players who can fetch more than Rs 10 crore

The Indian Premier League mega auction has created a lot of buzz as 590 players will be going under the hammer on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. With 10 teams in the fray, all of them are starting from scratch after they were allowed retentions and draft picks (for the two new teams).

Teams are looking for a fresh start and they will be looking to make good use of the mega auction to build a core group that will serve them well for the next 3-5 years.

As many as 370 Indian players will be going under the hammer at this year’s auction and some of them are expected to become million-dollar buys. For the first time in many years, we are likely to witness quite a few Indian players getting million-dollar contracts and a few even getting in excess of Rs 15 crore.

The IPL 2022 auction also has a marquee list, which includes 4 Indian players — Shikhar Dhawan, Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer and R Ashwin. The demand for India players is certainly going to be high as teams will look to build their core around the local stars.

It was evident from the way the two new franchises, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans went for India players as their captains. While Lucknow paid Rs 17 crore for KL Rahul (the costliest player so far ahead of IPL 2022) as their captain, Gujarat paid Rs 15 crore to appoint Hardik Pandya as their skipper.

With no Right To Match (RTM) cards available, the local stars will trigger bidding wars in Bengaluru.

Indiatoday.in takes a look at 5 players who can earn in excess of Rs 10 crore each the IPL 2022 mega auction

Shreyas Iyer

The former Delhi Capitals captain is expected to be the costliest player at the IPL 2022 auction. With as many as 4 teams eyeing a captain candidate, Iyer will trigger a bidding war in the IPL.

Shreyas Iyer was retained by Delhi Capitals both in 2018 and 2021. He was snapped up the franchise in 2015 for Rs 2.6 crore. However, ever since the Mumbai batter’s stocks have gone up.

Iyer led Delhi Capitals to their maiden final in IPL 2020. He was not able to lead Delhi in the first half of IPL 2021 due to a shoulder injury and had to stay away from captaincy as Rishabh Pant was backed by Delhi management.

Iyer has scored 2375 runs in 87 matches in the IPL. Between 2018 and 2022, Iyer scored at least 400 runs in a season with his best coming in 2020 wherein he managed 519.

Iyer hit an 80 in the 3rd ODI against the West Indie a day before the auction. A 3-format player for India, Iyer is all set to get in excess of Rs 10 crore. Don’t be surprised if he gets close to Rs 20 crore if teams are looking at him as an ideal captaincy option.

Teams that are likely to bid for Iyer: Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals

Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan is going to be a hot property at the IPL 2022 auction. Mumbai Indians did not retain the highly-rated wicketkeeper batter as they went with Rohit Sharma, Japrit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard as their 4 choices.

They was speculation that Kishan might be drafted in by one of the two new franchises but he is in the auction pool with teams gearing up to enter a fierce bidding war for him.

There are not many exciting India wicketkeepers, who are proven customers, in t the auction pool and that will make Ishan attract big bids.

Kishan, who has scored 1452 runs at an impressive strike rate of over 135 in his IPL career, proved his big-hitting exploits and flexibility in the batting order during his stint with Mumbai Indians.

Keep in mind, Ishan was sold to Mumbai Indians for Rs 6.2 crore in the 2021 auction and with the youngster making a mark at the international level, he is certainly going to fetch more than Rs 10 crore.

Teams that are likely to bid for Ishan Kishan: Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants, Gujarat Titans

Deepak Chahar

The former Chennai Super Kings bowler is going one of the most sought after fast bowlers in the IPL auction.

Chahar, over the years, has proved his knack of getting wickets with the new ball while playing under MS Dhoni. We have often seen Chahar bowl his full quota of 4 overs upfront and walk away with a bag full of wickets.

Chahar has improved his batting ability in the recent past. He played a telling knock in Sri Lanka last year, he shone in South Africa in the final ODI earlier this year and proved his batting skills once again in th 3rd ODI against the West Indies a day before the auction.

Chahar is unlikely to get anything less than Rs 10 crore. He was sold to Chennai Super Kings sin the 2018 mega auction for Rs 80 lakh. Yes, you read that right!

Don’t be surprised if Chennai Super Kings bring him back.

Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur is the hot and happening pace-bowling all-rounder for India. Since his heroics in Ausralia in 2021, the Mumbai star has gone on to become an all-format player for India.

Chennai Super Kings bought Shardul for Rs 2.6 crore in IPL 2021 auction but they will have to pay at least 5 times the price if they want to get him back in Yellow.

Shardul has a proven knack of getting wickets, importantly at the death overs, with his variations. And he has time and again proved that he can hit a long ball.

Shikhar Dhawan, Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Shami

Shikhar Dhawan and Mohammed Shami are part of the marquee list, which highlights the demand for these two stars. However, it remains to be seen if teams will be willing to shell out in excess of Rs 10 crore for the two players, who don’t have the all-round ability.

Meanwhile, Yuzvendra Chahal, who was not retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore, might come close to getting Rs 10 crore. His ability with the ball in Indian conditions helped RCB over the years and having an Indian leg-spinner is always a huge plus for any team.