Kolkata: The Indian Premier League (IPL) announced its final auction pool on Tuesday. Out of 590 players, 14 members from the ongoing ICC U-19 World Cup in the West Indies, had made it to the 2022 IPL auction list.
Indian U-19 skipper Yash Dhull, with a base price of Rs 20 lakh, along with Harnoor Singh, Aneeshwar Gautam, Raj Angad Bawa, Kaushal Tambe, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Vasu Vats, and Vicky Ostwal have made the cut.
While South African sensation Dewald Brevis, Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad along with batter Izharulhaq Naveed, Sri Lankan bowlers Matheesha Pathirana, Dunith Wellalage, and Aussie batsman Aidan Cahill among names not to be overlooked in this cut.
Let’s see who will be up for grabs on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru at the action-packed mega-auction.
1. Yash Dhull- India
Popularly known as an ‘instinctive captain’ among his coaches and teammates. The 19-year-old from Delhi has risen through the ranks with his leadership skills duly complementing his batsmanship. Dhull hit an unbeaten 110 in the ICC World Cup 2022 semifinal between India and Australia, ensuring India’s place in the final with a 290/5 total and a 96-run victory. Besides, he has guided the side to the Asia Cup title in the UAE in late December.
2. Harnoor Singh- India
Singh has had a remarkable outing in the World Cup, scoring 104 runs in four games. The 18-year old guy had shined in the U-19 Challenger Trophy with 418 runs in four innings, including three centuries followed by another hundred in the U-19 Triangular series in early December before topping the run-charts in the U-19 Asia Cup in the UAE with 251 runs in five matches, including a 120 against the host.
3. Raj Angad Bawa- India
A hard-hitting left-hand batter and a crafty right-arm medium pacer, Raj Angad picked up eight wickets from four matches during the U-19 Asia Cup in the UAE. He has scalped four wickets in the U-19 World Cup so far, and his unbroken 162 off 108 deliveries (14 fours and eight sixes) against Uganda in a group stage match smashed Shikhar Dhawan’s record for the highest score by an Indian in the tournament.
4. Rajvardhan Hangargekar- India
The Maharashtra seamer, 19, has taken five wickets so far in the World Cup and has pleased various players, including Ravichandran Ashwin. With 19 wickets at an average of under 12, the right-arm pacer ended second on the wicket-takers list. During India’s successful Asia Cup campaign in December, Hangargekar took eight wickets in five appearances.
5. Dewald Brevis- South Africa
South Africa’s Brevis had been in outstanding form at the U19 World Cup, scoring 368 runs in only five matches, including a century and three fifties. The 18-year-old has stood out from the crowd and is creating headlines with a style that is eerily similar to that of AB de Villiers, who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket last year and is not part of the IPL 2022 Auction.
6. Vicky Ostwal- India
In the World Cup, the all-rounder had 12 wickets, including a five-wicket haul against South Africa in the first match. He was instrumental in India’s U-19 Asia Cup victory over Sri Lanka, taking three wickets for 11 runs. Ostwal took eight wickets in the tournament. In the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, Ostwal scored 291 runs and had taken 11 wickets.
7. Dunith Wellalage- Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan skipper posted a brilliant century to edge past South Africa in the fifth-place playoff semi-final in North Sound. Wellalage had been a key performer with both bat and ball during his country’s campaign in the tournament.
8. Noor Ahmad- Afghanistan
Ahmad, 17, the youngest player on this auction list could attract many bidders as he resembles Kuldeep Yadav. Noor, like Rashid and Mujeeb, is a spinner and might debut in IPL this year. He was a member of the Afghanistan squad competing in the Under-19 World Cup in the West Indies. This was his second World Cup as a member of the Under-19 age group. He previously competed in the Under-19 World Cup in 2020, when he was just 15 years old.
9. Izharulhaq Naveed- Afghanistan
Izarulhaq Naveed, another Afghan youth from the U-19 World Cup squad, who had been the leading wicket-taker for the Afghanistan team in the ongoing World Cup, will also be auctioned off.
10. Matheesha Pathirana- Sri Lanka
Matheesha Pathirana has taken five wickets from the three games that he has faced but what made him noticeable was his bowling style. He is a right-arm fast bowler and his bowling action reminds people of a certain Lasith Malinga.
11. Kaushal Tambe- India
Tambe has scored 86 runs and taken three wickets in four World Cup matches thus far. The batter, who also bowls off-spin, put up a strong performance in the Challenger Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy, scoring 328 runs, including two centuries.
12. Aneeshwar Gautam- India
Gautam scored 12 runs and took two wickets in two appearances in the World Cup U-19. In the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, the Bengaluru all-rounder scored 239 runs. In the Challenger Trophy, he amassed 209 runs and scalped three wickets.
13. Aidan Cahill – Australia
The 18-year-old NSW allrounder Aidan Cahill has a strike rate of 145 at the World Cup, highlighted by an innings of 72 from 45 balls against Scotland. He has also taken three wickets from four games.
14. Vasu Vats- India
Uttar Pradesh seamer Vasu Vats, who claimed 16 wickets in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, has been ruled out of the U-19 World Cup due to injury. He was ruled out of the Kolkata tri-series and did not participate in the Asia Cup either.
