IPL Auction 2019: 1003 players to go under the hammer on December 18 in Jaipur

IPL Player Auction is being held in Jaipur. (Source: IPL)

More than a thousand players are ready to go under the hammer after registering themselves for the upcoming mini-auction of the 12th edition of Indian Premier League on December 18 in Jaipur. A total of 1003 players will battle it out for the 70 spots available in the eight IPL franchises. 800 uncapped players, including 746 Indians and  232 overseas players have thrown their hat in the ring. Cricketers from Northeastern states, Uttarakhand and Bihar will also be in the mix.

The foreign contingent includes 59 from South Africa, 35 Australians, 27 from Afghanistan and one each from Ireland, USA, Hong Kong, and USA in the initial list. The final list will be published in a week. Another notable development will be the absence of auctioneer Richard Madley, who became a regular feature during the IPL auctions over the years. Hugh Edmeades, described as an independent fine art, classic car and charity auctioneer, will be the new gavel master.

Amidst speculations of who willl attract the most interest, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar put in his view and said that all-rounder Shivam Dubey could be on the radar of several franchisees. In his column for mid-day, Gavaskar wrote, “One player who will definitely be on the radar of the scouts of the franchises, as well as the national selectors, is Shivam Dubey. Not since Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly has a left-hander hit the ball so cleanly and powerfully in Indian cricket.”

“That he is also a medium pacer is a huge plus and more than the franchises, the national selectors should be sitting and taking notice of this talent. He has scored two Ranji hundreds and also picked a fifer which is more than some who are considered indispensable to the Indian team have done. Besides being a left hander, he also brings a variation that the team can do with,” he added.

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