IPL auction 2024: Top international players to watch out for

Rachin Ravindra (Pic: AFP)

With the IPL auction 2024 being less than a day away, there will be some eye-catching picks during the auction as all ten franchises look to fill the available 77 slots. Some of the top overseas players who are likely to steal the limelight during the auction hail from top cricketing nations like New Zealand, England, Australia and South Africa.

Australia's 29-year-old opener Travis Head is one of the names who has established himself as one of the biggest cricketing stars in 2023.

He is known to play big knocks for his team when it matters most. He scored a match-winning knock of 163 off 174 balls in the World Test Championship final against India earlier this year.

He once again haunted India in the World Cup final, he took on the opposition bowlers and scored a 137 to guide Australia to their record-extending sixth title.

In T20I, Head has played 23 matches and scored 554 runs at an average of 29.1. Travis has had experience of playing in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC). Overall, the left-handed batter has scored 205 runs in 10 matches at an average of 29.29 and a strike rate of 138.51.

The second player who is likely to walk away with a hefty price tag is English youngster Harry Brook. The right-handed batter has become the hottest prospect in the world of cricket following his consistent performances for the Three Lions across the three formats.

In 2022, he announced himself to the world during England's tour to Pakistan. During England's victory in Multan in the second Test, Brook played an eye-catching knock of 108 in the second innings which proved crucial in England's 28-run victory.

Over the year, he has established himself as one of the most recognized faces in the world of cricket but T20I is a format in which he is yet to prove his prowess.

In 24 innings, Brook has amassed 531 runs at an average of 27.9 and a strike rate of 145.1. After his consistent performances for England, Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to cash in on the youngster and acquired his services for a whopping sum of Rs 13.25 crore.

However, he failed to justify his price tag as he scored just 190 runs in 11 matches at an average of 21.1 in IPL 2023. He was released by SRH and will once again appear in the auction. Teams will be looking to add the youngster to their roster to get the dynamism that the youngster offers.

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Coming to all-rounders, South African youngster Gerald Coetzee and New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra are two players to watch out for in the IPL auction 2024.

Both players left their mark in last month's World Cup by producing some sensational performances. The Proteas all-rounder is known for his bowling capabilities as he reached the milestone of most wickets for the Proteas in a single edition of the ODI World Cup.

In the ODI World Cup 2023, Coetzee bagged 20 wickets. The Proteas speedster overtook the 'Player of the Tournament' of the 1999 World Cup Lance Klusener who had 17 wickets by his name.

In the shortest format of cricket, Coetzee is yet to prove himself as he has just played four matches and scored 25 runs at an average of 8.33. He has also scalped six wickets with an economy of 10.5.

Coming to Rachin, the Kiwi is more dominant with the bat in comparison to the ball. The Kiwi youngster was the fourth-highest run scorer in the ODI World Cup 2023; he scored 578 runs with a strike rate of 106.44 after playing 10 matches. Meanwhile, Ravindra also picked up five wickets in nine innings and proved himself to be an effective wicket-taker as well.

In the T20I format, the left-handed batter has played 18 matches and scored 145 runs at an average of 13.18. He has also claimed 11 wickets with a healthy economy of 6.68.

Finally, coming to the bowlers Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga and Australia's Mitchell Starc are the two names who are likely to catch the eyes of several franchises. Both bowlers are well known for their remarkable capabilities in T20 cricket and can also chip in runs with the bat.

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The leg-spinner has had his issues with fitness after he picked up a thigh strain in the playoffs of the Lankan Premier League (LPL) earlier this year, which forced him to sit out of Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign.

He will be keen to return to on-field action and continue to add to his eye-catching statistics in T20I format. In 58 matches, the 26-year-old spinner has claimed 91 wickets with an economy of 8.13.

In the IPL, Hasaranga has 35 wickets in 26 matches with an economy of 8.13. Coming to his batting statistics, he scored 72 runs in the IPL and 533 runs in the T20I format.

Coming to Starc he has been riding high on confidence throughout this year. He has already lifted the World Cup trophy and the World Test Championship trophy.

In T20I he has played 58 matches and scalped 73 wickets at an economy of 7.63. He has also played 27 matches in the IPL and claimed 34 wickets at an economy of 7.16.

(With agency inputs)