The IPL 2022 auction took place on February 12 and 13 in Bangalore, and it kept the audience and the 10 franchises on their toes. It turned out to be an exciting affair as a number of players, including capped and uncapped, went under the hammer.
Even as some of them bagged handsome deals, a few of them returned empty-handed. Some of the cricketers also went on to trigger bidding wars and earned well in excess of INR 10 crores in the auction. If a team with those players are formed, it can defeat the best of teams around the world with relative ease.
In the article, let’s look at the best XI of players with the price of INR 10 crores in the IPL 2022 Auction
1. Openers (KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma)k
KL Rahul is set to lead the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 after being drafted in at a price of INR 17 crores. Team mentor Gautam Gambhir has shown enough faith on Rahul, who had a more than decent run while playing for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) since 2018.
Rohit Sharma is the most successful skipper in the history of the IPL, having won Mumbai Indians the title five times. Moreover, the 34-year-old is third in the list of leading run-scorers in the IPL, having notched, 5611 runs from 213 games at an average of 31.17.
2. Middle-order (Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan)
Prior to the mega auction, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) retained Virat Kohli for INR 15 crores. Last year, the 33-year-old stepped down as the skipper of the team. He is also the all-time highest run-scorer in the tournament, having scored 6283 runs from 207 games.
Ishan Kishan joined the Mumbai Indians (MI) back in 2018 and had his fair share of ups and downs. He faced troubles in the middle order, but his fortunes changed once he was sent to open the batting. After releasing him, MI shelled out INR 15.25 crore for the left-hander.
3. All-rounders (Wanindu Hasaranga, MS Dhoni (wk)), Andre Russell, Liam Livingstone)
Wanindu Hasaranga played couple of games for RCB last season, but couldn’t contribute much. But in other domestic leagues and for Sri Lanka, he has been an absolute asset, especially with the ball. Not to forget the damage he can do with the willow in hand.
MS Dhoni might be at the fag end of his career, but his hunger to taste success hasn’t died down. Andre Russell had a stellar 2019 season, but he wasn’t at his best in the last two seasons. The kind of form Liam Livingstone is in, he can take the best of attacks to the cleaners.
Bowlers (Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Rashid Khan)
Harshal Patel was the Purple Cap holder last season and also equaled Dwayne Bravo’s record of most wickets in a single season. After being released, the Challengers roped him in for INR 10.75 crores in the IPL 2022 auction.
Patel can also play the big shots if the situation demands him to do so. Jasprit Bumrah has been a tried and tested customer in top-level cricket and is a reliable figure. The pacer is set to play for the Mumbai franchise after being retained for INR 12 crores.
Rashid Khan, who played five seasons for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), will hone his skills with the Gujarat Titans after being drafted in at INR 5 crores before the IPL 2022 auction.
