With just a few days left for the grand IPL auction in December 2019, franchises have started to make plans for the day. The idea is to get the best possible players available for their vacant slots at the lowest cost. This league has been a great platform for bright youngsters to show their calibre over the years. This year won’t be any exception. The players who have done well in recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be in focus this time. Here we have listed five players from these two tournaments who can bag good bids on December 19 in Kolkata.
Sai Kishore
Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, the Tamil Nadu left-arm orthodox spinner is having a breakthrough year in domestic limited-overs tournaments. He finished the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the premier domestic 50-over tournament with 11 wickets and then picked up 20 more wickets in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to finish as the top wicket-taker in this domestic T20 tournament. A tall finger spinner like Ravichandran Ashwin, Sai Kishore was given the responsibility of bowling in the powerplay overs and he delivered brilliantly. His 4/6 against Tripura was an outstanding display and he was able to provide early wickets on many occasions. Sai Kishore was part of the CSK training facility last year as a net bowler and that exposure helped him a lot. A chat with Harbhajan Singh helped him understand the mindset required to be successful at the top level. Kishore was part of the IPL auction for last two seasons without any bidder for him. But this time there can be a bidding war among the teams to get his service.
Aditya Waghmode
Aditya Waghmode, the 30-year-old left-handed opener from Baroda is under lots of focus after the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Waghmode has scored 364 runs with a strike rate above 150 in 10 matches in this tournament including three fifty-plus scores. In T20 cricket, getting a good start is the key for most of the teams and Waghmode with his hitting ability can provide that in more regular frequency as he showed during the tournament. Waghmode and his opening partner Kedar Devdhar provided good starts in multiple matches and also helped them achieve a ten-wicket victory against Bihar. Waghmode is part of the Baroda set up for around 10 years but started to show his true potential from last two-three seasons. Now after a good showing in the domestic T20 tournament an IPL call up looks certain. Many teams are looking for options for their top-order batting and Waghmode can fit the bill perfectly.
Abhimanyu Mithun
Abhimanyu Mithun utilized the opportunity when he was called up to replace Vinay Kumar in the Karnataka side. He did not only perform well but led the Karnataka bowling attack. He took 20 wickets from nine games in that 50-over tournament at an average of 14.55 and a hat-trick. His strike-rate of 22.2 and an economy of 3.93 proved his ability to deliver the goods consistently. Compared to Vijay Hazare Trophy Mithun had a pretty average in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He scalped 10 wickets in eight games for Karnataka in the 20-over tournament. But his 5/39 that included a hat-trick in the semi-final against Haryana helped Karnataka convincingly cement their place in the finale. Interestingly he conceded 18 runs in the 18th over of Haryana innings and then came back to deliver the last over where he took all the five wickets. Mithun already played 16 IPL games with the last being played in 2013. His current form may well help him get better bids and more opportunities in the coming season.
Baba Aparajith
In the Under-19 World Cup in 2012 Baba Aparajith was one of India’s premier all-rounders. Aparajith has been one of Tamil Nadu’s key players across formats for the last few years. This Vijay Hazare Trophy saw him amassing 598 runs at an average of 66.44 with six half-centuries and a hundred to finish as the fourth most run-getters as the tournament. Moreover, his part-time off-spin helped Karnataka get 11 wickets. Although in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy he could only manage to score 160 runs at an average of 32.00 he ended as the fourth-highest run-getter for his team. Moreover, in the final match, he was the second-highest scorer for his team with a 25-ball 40. Thanks to his maturity and a dependable partnership with Vijay Shankar that Tamil Nadu were in the match till the last ball bowled even after an initial collapse. His experience in domestic tournaments can help him bring stability to the middle order of any team. Aparajith who is yet to make IPL debut despite being a part of squads earlier can grab attention of different franchises in the upcoming IPL auction.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal has emerged as one of the brightest players in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20. The 17-year-old was the highest run-getter for Mumbai and fifth overall in the entire tournament. He accumulated 564 runs from just six appearances in the tournament at an astonishing average of 112 with three centuries and a 50+ score to his name. The young star also created a new record when he became the youngest player to register a List A double hundred when he hit 203 off 154 balls against Goa that included 12 maximums and 17 boundaries. His performance already helped him get a place in India’s squad for the Under-19 World Cup scheduled from January 17 in South Africa. Such a brilliant performance definitely makes him a strong contender for IPL 2020 auction. Although he was not part of Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy any franchise with a long term vision will like to invest in a special talent like him.