The Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction is around the corner! While the likes of Ben Stokes, Chris Green and Sam Curran might attract huge bids, the cricket fans in Jammu and Kashmir would be excited to see whether or not any of the players from the region would find buyers!
There are as many as 21 cricketers from J&K shortlisted in the 405-member player list! Notably, it is the highest number among all the states!
Most of the players on the list have been part of J&K’s various teams for quite some time. There are some unknown names too in the list, which as per our sources are from a cricket academy in Jammu. They had attended a few trials, helping them find a mention on the list.
The IPL Auction is scheduled for December 23 and the maximum number of players who could attract buyers is 87! It means most of the players wouldn’t even go under the hammer!
But is there any hope for J&K players? Yes, of course! There are a few players who are surely on the radar of quite a few franchises! However, with how IPL Auction works, you can never predict anything!
Nonetheless, there are quite a few players from J&K who attended trials of various IPL franchises! Opening batter Shubham Khajuria, who had a dream season with the white ball this year, tops the list.
The right-handed batter appeared in trials of 7 different franchises. Left-arm spinning all-rounder Abid Mushtaq also attended trials of 5 franchises.
Vivrant Sharma, a classy left-handed batter who bowls handy leg breaks too, left-arm seamer Mujtaba Yousuf, right-arm quick Yudhvir Singh and all-rounder Auqib Nabi all took part in trials of three different franchises.
Fast-bowler Waseem Bashir was called by six IPL franchises for trials but he could only attend two! All-rounder Nasir Lone went to trials of two franchises and missed out on one!
Wicket-keeper batter Fazil Rashid also appeared in trials of a couple of franchises. Apart from them, many J&K players participated in trials of a single franchise, including Sharukh Dar (Delhi Capitals), Basit Bashir (Mumbai Indians) and others.
Now, many of you might be wondering what attending these trials means. It, in no way, means that if a player attends trials of a franchise, they would buy him! However, it does signify that the franchise wanted to see the player more closely!
