RCB and Rajasthan Royals top players out from IPL 2022

The star players, big names in international cricket, have decided not to enrol for the mega-auction, to be held on February 12 and 13. RCB and Rajasthan Royals top players out from IPL 2022. Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) former player Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Mitchell starc out from IPL 2022.

Another England player Root had previously declared that he would have to sacrifice IPL for England and Test cricket, but the absence of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Mitchell starc was a surprise. Over 1200 players (1214 precisely) have made it to the initial list of the auction register shared with the IPL franchises on Friday night (January 21).

The new Lucknow franchise in the IPL has signed on KL Rahul for a fee of INR 17 crores become costliest player, making the batter the joint-highest paid player in the league’s history. A similar sum was commanded by former India captain Virat Kohli when the Royal Challengers Bangalore retained him ahead of the IPL 2018 auction.

KL Rahul, it was confirmed, will captain a side that’ll include Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis (signed for INR 9.2 crores) and uncapped legspinner Ravi Bishnoi (signed for INR 4 crores). The Lucknow team will head to the IPL 2022 auction with a purse of INR 59.80 crores. KL Rahul is not only an outstanding batsman but also a great wicketkeeper,” Sanjiv Goenka, head of the RPSG Group that owns the franchise told Star Sports.

Of the 1,214 names on the Auction Register, 896 are Indian players and 318 overseas players. The list incorporates 270 capped, 903 uncapped and 41 players from Associate nations like Nepal, UAE, Oman, Scotland and the Netherlands. There are 14 players from the USA too. If every franchise were to have the maximum of 25 players in their squad, 217 players will be bought in the auction, of which up to 70 may be overseas players.

Even considering the fact that all teams are unlikely to go for the full quota of players, there is still a high possibility that at least 200 players will go under the hammer. Some of the big international names who have made themselves available are Pat Cummins (Australia, base price Rs 2 crore), David Warner (Australia, Rs 2 crore), Steve Smith (Australia, Rs 2 crore), Quinton de Kock (South Africa, Rs 2 crore), Faf du Plessis (South Africa, Rs 2 crore) and Mark Wood (England, Rs 2 crore).

Wood, one of the fastest bowlers, was a prominent absentee from last year’s auction. The South African pace trio of Kagiso Rabada (Rs 2 crore) and Lungi Ngidi (Rs 50 lakh) and Marco Jansen (Rs 50 lakh), who tormented India in the just-concluded Test series, have enrolled themselves for the auction, likely to be held in Bangalore. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has, however, not mentioned the dates and venue of the auction in the mail.

Among others, Dwayne Bravo (Rs 2 crore) has put his name up, but another big name missing from the list is Chris Gayle. The Jamaican has been a regular feature in the IPL since its inception but the West Indies veteran, who is surely near the autumn of his international career, may have realised the diminishing batting returns. The Curran brothers – Sam and Tom – are other glaring absentees in the list but as one understands, both will be out of action during IPL (April-May) due to injuries.

Also Read: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Top Player out from IPL 2022

Among the Indians are A-listers like R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik and Shardul Thakur, who all are in the top INR 2 crore reserve price bracket. Former Chennai Super Kings stalwarts Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu and Robin Uthappa are also in the 2-crore category, just as Mohammed Shami. Deepak Chahar has pegged himself at INR 2 crore base price but his cousin Rahul is in INR 75 lakh reserve price group.

Pacers Prasidh Krishna and T Natarajan are in the INR 1 crore category while S Sreesanth will be available at 50 lakhs onwards. Spinners Washington Sundar and Amit Mishra are in the Rs 1.5 crore classification. Cheteshwar Pujara, the surprise pick in the last auction by Chennai Super Kings, is at 50 lakhs. A curious registration in the list is by Manoj Tiwary. A Minister in the West Bengal government, the former India batsman has enrolled for Rs 50 lakh. Player Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Mitchell starc out from IPL 2022.