OR NOT! Well, the IPL auction is knocking on our doors, and therefore, it is time for us to make some wild predictions
The Indian Premier League’s (IPL) mega auction for 2025 is merely a few days away, scheduled to be hosted on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This year, a total of 574 players will be part of the mega auction, and out of these 574, 12 players are marquee. Of the 12, five are overseas players comprising Jos Buttler, Kagiso Rabada, Mitchell Starc, Liam Livingstone, and David Miller.
One of the most consistent and hard-hitting batters in the IPL, Rajasthan Royals’ decision to not retain Jos Buttler shocked everyone. Since 2018 with the Royals, he made 3,055 runs at an average of 41.84 and a strike rate of 147.79. Not to forget, he also made seven centuries and 18 half centuries and reached the zenith of his IPL career in 2022 with 863 runs in 17 matches. Furthermore, he is also a T20 World Cup-winning captain, and therefore, we believe he is going to the Kolkata Knight Riders. With no captain at the moment, Jos Buttler could be a great fit for the three-time IPL champions.
Kagiso Rabada has proved to be one of the most impactful bowlers in the IPL. However, he was let go by Punjab Kings. Not to forget, Arshdeep Singh was also not retained by Punjab Kings, and therefore, we believe Punjab will try to use their Right to Match card on Rabada. However, there’s another team that immediately needs a pacer, i.e., the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who could also target the South African pacer who has 117 IPL wickets in 80 matches.
For Mitchell Starc, IPL has never been a priority, having appeared in only three seasons since 2014. Last year, Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans engaged in a fierce battle for the Australian left-hand pacer. Riders outbidding the Titans paid a whopping INR 24.75 crores for Starc, but despite him grabbing 17 wickets last season, the Riders did not retain him. Given how Starc was a crucial cog that helped Kolkata win the IPL 2024, the Titans could once again engage in a bidding war for him, given the team nears a premier pacer and Mohammed Shami has been struggling with injuries.
Phil Salt and Mitchell Starc played a major role in lifting the IPL 2024 trophy. KKR has to be open about using RTM for them, even though they will command a high price.#KKR | #PhilSalt | #MitchellStarc pic.twitter.com/Jg3eXBG5qw
— KKR Karavan (@KkrKaravan) August 3, 2024
While Punjab Kings are yet to win their maiden IPL title, Liam Livingstone has been one of their key hitters in the last three seasons of the tourney. Even though they have not retained him, we firmly believe he will be pulled back into the squad because Punjab will try to keep its core team together. Therefore, a Right to Match could be used on Livingstone.
Dear @ChennaiIPL, we’ve had enough spin bashers in the squad. It's time to bring in the ultimate pace basher, Liam Livingstone.
— TravisBickle (@TravisbickleCSK) November 13, 2024
(Day 12)
pic.twitter.com/JZkYYfaxJU https://t.co/HzG2qt9kgL
David Miller’s partnership with Gujarat Titans has been a successful affair since 2022. His 481 runs in 16 games that season were one of the reasons why the Titans lifted the trophy. However, David Miller has not been retained, but the Gujarat Titans will try to use the Right to Match card. Although we believe that Royal Challengers Bengaluru will snatch him, given former South African legend and Bengaluru player AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel that he would love to see Miller batting at No. 6—a piece of advice that the RCB management should take seriously.
