IPL Auction 2022: Odean Smith Among 5 New Foreign Players Who Can Win A Mega Contract

West Indian Smith's all-round skills will excite the team owners who will make their decision at the IPL 2022 mega auction.

Aditya Kumar

Updated on: 12 February 2022 2:30 am

Windies all-rounder Odean Smith has a base price of INR 1 crore.

Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of those platforms where every player wants to perform, irrespective of his nationality. This is the reason since the inception of the tournament, various quality players have loved playing at the marquee T20 event. (More Cricket News)

Brendon McCullum with his sensational 158* off 73 balls in the very first game of the cash-rich league had announced that the tournament had a lot to offer for the foreign players as well. The likes of AB de Villiers, Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle and many more continued in that same vein, producing impactful performances and earning immense love from Indian fans as well.

Eyeing similar future, a lot of new foreign players will go under the hammer on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru at the IPL 2022 player auction. Here is an attempt to shortlist five of them who can bag big money at the auction:

Odean Smith (West Indies)

The player must have been noticed by the IPL franchises during his performance against India in the second ODI. Apart from bowling at serious pace, Odean Smith can also hit the ball to miles. He can be a good finisher for any team.

The right-handed bowling all-rounder has played 33 T20 matches and has taken 36 wickets. He has a strike rate of 130.61, and can perform even better.

Rassie van der Dussen (South Africa)

The top-order batter is a clean hitter of the ball. Van der Dussen averages over 38 in both T20 and T20Is. Apart from being consistent with runs, his scoring rate is also impressive as he enjoys a strike rate of over 130 which is not bad for a batter who comes in the top-order.

Ben McDermott (Australia)

Many franchises would look to invest in the wicketkeeper-batter who is coming into the IPL 2022 auction after being named the player of the tournament in recently-concluded BBL season.

McDermott was the top scorer in BBL 2021-22 with 577 runs at a strike rate of 153.86, including back-to-back centuries in late December. He averages nearly 33 with a strike rate of 133.42.

Reece Topley (England)

The 6 feet 7 inches tall left-arm pacer could bag good money in IPL 2022 auction. Apart from his quality yorkers, another aspect that will help him at the bidding war is his age. He turns 28 this month and any franchise would love to have such a pacer keeping the future in mind.

Topley has taken 131 wickets in 104 T20s he has played so far.

Janneman Malan (South Africa)

The 26-year-old top-order batter from South Africa enjoys a strike rate of 135.47 in the T20s with an average of over 31. He has two centuries to his name in 60 games played in the format.

His age is one of the positives for him.