Eleven stars who could spark a bidding war at the IPL 7 auction

Virender Sehwag, Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis, Yuvraj Singh, Mahela Jayawardene, Mitchell Johnson, M Vijay, David Warner, George Bailey, Faf du Plessis, Michael Hussey, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, Brendon McCullum, Amit Mishra and Darren Sammy are the 16 marquee players at the IPL 7 auctions. But will they be the most in-demand names? While base-price is certainly a marker for which the top names are — we pick out eleven names who may spark a bidding war among the sides. We’ve given a lot of brownie points on their recent form and past IPL experience — and sometimes, these come at a high cost. Kevin Pietersen (Rs 2 crore): What’s the most attractive part of the KP deal? That he’s available for the whole season. Free from England constraints unlike previous seasons, KP will also be charged up after a humiliating and sudden axing from the national setup. He’s pure class and a match-winner. Vijay Zol (Rs 30 lakhs): India U-19 captain and vital cog in the Maharashtra Ranji team — Zol is a proven run-getter and at par with Unmukt Chand in the ’next big Indian star’ list. He’ll be playing the U-19 World Cup in UAE while the auctions happen in Bangalore, but he can be sure to bag a good deal. [caption id=“attachment_1384483” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Anderson comes on the back of scoring the fastest century in ODI cricket and the Indian bowlers know very well the damage he can do. Getty Images[/caption] David Warner (Rs 1.5 crore): He tweets unruly stuff occasionally, but Warner’s a player you want on your side. His overall IPL strike-rate is 133.11 and he’s very useful in the field too. His best IPL season came last time out and his future team would hope he carries starts from where he left off. Also, he’s coming off a supreme series against England. Quinton de Kock (Rs 1 crore): This guy is in some form isn’t he? Scored three tons vs India in the recently concluded series and his numbers for the Highveld Lions in the Ram Slam T20 have been brilliant — he finished second in the top-scorers’ list with 379 runs from 10 games. Corey Anderson (Rs 1 crore): He comes on the back of scoring the fastest century in ODI cricket and the Indian bowlers know very well the damage he can do. At 23, he is fulfilling the potential New Zealand’s coaches and senior players saw in him and when he starts hitting the ball sweetly — there’s no way you can stop him. Oh by the way, did we tell you that he takes lots of wickets too? (19 wickets taken, 424 runs scored in 12 ODIs). Mitchell Johnson (Rs 2 crore): Took 37 wickets in the Ashes and is bowling like never before – touching insane speeds. Add to that his handlebar mustache and a glare you don’t want to be looking into. Mumbai can retain him with their ‘Right to Match’ card but they should expect to pay a handsome fee for this guy. Mike Hussey (Rs 2 crore): Winner of the Orange Cap in the last IPL season, Hussey is a veteran of the tournament and the game — providing consistency like no other (has a brilliant IPL average of 44.50). CSK will ideally retain him with their Right to Match card. Thisara Perera (Rs 50 lakh): He’s 25, scored 163 runs for the Sunrisers with a strike-rate of 142.94 and took 19 wickets in IPL 6. Still to peak, getting him now will promise a fine allrounder for the next few years at least. Pragyan Ojha (Rs 2 crore): So Mumbai can either retain him or Mitchell Johnson with their Right to Match card — spinner or lethal fast bowler? They have to make the choice or pay a hefty price to have both. Ojha is one of the few quality spinners on the list and will command a good fee — especially with R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Sunil Narine already retained by their respective franchises. Alex Hales (Rs 2 crore): Hales is No 2 in the ICC T20 batsmen rankings and despite his recent form being poor by his standards, he’s untested in the IPL and could be a risk worth taking. We know he can score — it’s just a question of whether he can find his feet in the IPL. Given the batsmen friendly pitches, we think he will. Brendon McCullum (Rs 2 crore): In phenomenal form against India in the ongoing series in New Zealand and the world’s top T20 batsman. We think the wicket-keeper batsman’s inclusion in this list of eleven players makes it a complete team! McCullum has had his failings in the IPL, but there are few out there who can strike fear into an opposition when he starts swinging that bat. Other players who crossed our minds: Mohamed Shami, Steven Smith, Ishant Sharma, Tim Southee, Marlon Samuels, Luke Wright, Brett Lee, Nathan Lyon, James Neesham and Vernon Philander are also expected to be in high demand.