The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is only a couple of months away with April being deemed for its start. The retentions took place last year and the mega auction for the upcoming edition is scheduled to take place in Bangalore on February 12 and 13.
A number of players have thrown their hats in the ring in a bid to fetch handsome deals. Players from the U19 World Cup 2022 in the West Indies also registered for the auction. Plenty of cricketers from the mega event did well and will go under the hammer in a few days.
Here are 5 U19 WC stars who can trigger bidding wars in IPL 2022 auction
1. Dewald Brevis
Dewald Brevis wreaked havoc in the U19 World Cup over the last couple of weeks. The youngster finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 506 runs at an average of 84.33. The 18-year-old also made two centuries and three half-centuries in the mega event.
The Johannesburg-born batter got out two times in the 90s as well. Brevis is more than a handy leg-break bowler as well, having picked up seven wickets in the World Cup. Already deemed as the ‘Baby’ version of AB de Villiers, Brevis has a bright future in the offing.
2. Dunith Wellalage
Sri Lanka’s Dunith Wellalage was the standout bowler in the U19 World Cup without a doubt. The 19-year-old managed to churn out all-round shows, although his team was knocked out before the Super League semis. The left-arm spinner finished the event with 17 wickets from six games.
During this while, he also picked up a couple of five-wicket hauls in the tournament. Wellalage was also pretty impressive with the bat in hand, having scored 264 runs in the World Cup at an average of 44 with one century and one half-century to show for his efforts.
3. Izharulhaq Naveed
Izharulhaq Naveed was arguably the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan in the U19 World Cup. The 18-year-old was their leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps from five matches with best figures of 3/14 against Papua New Guinea (PNG) at Diego Martin on January 18.
He also notched a three-fer against Qasim Akram’s Pakistan at the Brian Lara Stadium, although his effort went in vain. Naveed also bowled at an impressive economy rate of 3.64. Moreover, the Young Turk has experience of eight List A games where he has picked seven wickets.
4. Yash Dhull
Starting from Virat Kohli, a number of Indian U19 skippers, including Ashok Menaria, Ishan Kishan, Prithvi Shaw and Priyam Garg have gone on to ply their trade in the IPL. Hence, there is a decent chance for the 19-year-old Yash Dhull to get an opportunity in the cash-rich tournament.
During the mega event, Dhull tested positive for COVID-19 and missed quite a few matches. But despite that, he performed well with the bat, having scored 212 runs from three games at an average of 106. In the Super League semi-final, Dhull scored a run-a-ball 110 against Australia.
5. Noor Ahmad
Among the players in the list, Noor Ahmad is the most experienced. The 17-year-old has already plied his trade for Melbourne Renegades, Galle Gladiators, Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators in the Big Bash League (BBL), Lanka Premier League (LPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The Young Turk recently played his second U19 World Cup where he picked up eight wickets in five games. But having picked up 33 wickets from as many T20 matches since his debut in 2019, Ahmad knows the tricks of the trade. He was also a part of an IPL auction, albeit he remained unsold.
