IPL 2021 auction- Three unknown players who can become dollar millionaires via IPL Player Auctions on Feb 18: Tamil Nadu clinched their second Syed Mushtaq Trophy title on Sunday beating Baroda by seven wickets. It was a great T20 domestic season for many youngsters who are looking for an IPL contact at the auctions scheduled on February 18 in Chennai. Here are three under-26 players who can become crorepati.
– Kartik Kakade (25-year-old)
During the lockdown, Kakade worked on his power-hitting and added new weapons to his off-spin arsenal. He developed an arm ball and carrom ball to strengthen his bowling capabilities.
The hard work paid dividends in full for the 25-year-old, who impressed the IPL teams in this edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He scalped five wickets at a decent economy rate of 6.7 and was extremely good in fielding too.
With the bat, on the other hand, Kakade walloped a match-winning 41-ball 53 against Punjab in the semifinal. Blessed with these all-round abilities, his coaches describe him as a player with the ‘X-factor’.
– Mohammed Azharuddeen (26-year-old)
The Thalangara batsman has been one of the finds of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In Kerala’s league encounter against Mumbai at Wankhede Stadium, he smashed a 37-ball to en route to a 54-ball 137. The blitzkrieg consisted of nine fours and 11 sixes. It was the third-fastest T20 century by an Indian behind Rishabh Pant (32 balls) and Rohit Sharma (35 balls). The century put him on the IPL team radar.
– M Siddharth (22-year-old)
Manimaran Siddharth, a skilful left-arm spinner, made his domestic T20 debut for Tamil Nadu in 2019. Owing to his 12-wicket outing in five games, he bagged an IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a base price of Rs 20 lakh.
But could not break into the starting eleven and was eventually released after the 2020 season. However, after a match-winning haul of 4/20 in the SMAT 2021 final against Baroda, the 22-year-old is sure to attract franchises’ attention.