Despite protest over the controversial CAA, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has stated that the players’ auction for IPL 2020 will go on as planned.
The VIVO IPL 2020 player auction will go on as scheduled despite massive protest over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. Set to commence on the 19th of December 2019, in Kolkata, this auction will see about 332 cricketers go under the hammer. Although 997 cricketers had originally registered for the auction, the final list has been abridged due to the submission of shortlisted names from the eight franchises. With the highest base price been INR 2 crore, seven overseas players have opted to be included in the highest bracket. These players include Angelo Mathews, Dale Steyn, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Chris Lynn, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.
Just one Indian player – Robin Uthappa has a base price of Rs 1.5 crore in the auction list. Other Indian superstars with a base price of Rs 1 crore are Jaydev Unadkat, Yusuf Patha and Piyush Chawla. A total of 3 players from Associate Nations, 186 Indian players and 143 overseas players will be available for selection in the IPL 2020 player auction in Kolkata. This year’s auction is quite small as only 73 slots will be opted for by the eight franchises with 29 foreign buys.
“All the focus and attention will be on the fast bowlers, especially the ones from overseas” said Delhi Capitals head coach, Ricky Ponting. “Players like Chris Woakes as well as Pat Cummins could be available for huge amounts. Likewise Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Jimmy Neesham and Glenn Maxwell could also be big picks” he stated.
“You have to be 100% specific on the types of players you need when going into an auction. Take for instance, we have 3 openers already, so we don’t need openers again. The problem areas in your team must be identified before the auction as this will help you plug the gaps,” the former Australia captain commented.
Speaking on what Indian superstars Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin, brought in from Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab will add to the Delhi Capitals, Ponting said “these are players that will be exceptional on the Kotla wicket, bringing along tremendous experience.”
There have however been reports of chaos and violence in many states like West Bengal , Jamia Millia Islamia University, Assam, Tripura, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh Muslim University and so on but Kolkata has not been affected.
According to reliable reports reaching us, the Delhi Capital’s management team will be representing the franchise at the auction. And the management team is set to reach Kolkata on Tuesday 17th December 2019 for their final preparation.
“IPL auctions have been on since Monday evening and the Franchises will start arriving by Wednesday morning and Tuesday evening” stated a senior BCCI official.
The citizenship Amendment Act, which seeks to make non-Muslim religious minorities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Indian citizens have sparked off strong protests across West Bengal and the north east.