IPL 2022 Mega Auction: Captain material picks from Shreyas Iyer, Pat Cummins and David Warner

Ishan Kishan has been one of the upcoming youngsters in the Indian circuit and the wicketkeeper-batter was expected to bag a huge sum of money in the IPL 2022 mega auction. Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings started the bidding for Kishan immensely and showed a huge interest in the youngster. Gujarat Titans joined the bidding after Punjab swayed out while Sunrisers Hyderabad made a late entry. In the end, Kishan was sold for a whopping INR 15.25 crore to his former franchise Mumbai Indians.

The left-hander was a vital cog in the Mumbai Indians batting lineup in the last few seasons and has been successful at various positions in the batting order. He struggled to get going in the first phase of IPL 2021 in spin-friendly wickets but is a completely different proposition when the ball comes onto the bat nicely. The Mumbai and UAE pitches suited him really well and he repaid the faith on him with some marvelous knocks.

Australian quick Pat Cummins stayed with his former team Kolkata Knight Riders, bagging an INR 7.25 crore deal on the first day of the IPL 2022 mega auction. Cummins, who was slotted in as one of the ten marquee players that set the auction ball rolling, attracted bids from KKR and both new members Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants before KKR occupied him.

Cummins, who recently led Australia to a more-than-convincing 4-0 victory in the home Ashes, has 38 wickets at an average and strike rate of 30.13 and 21.95 in his 37-match IPL career. He could well double-up with the bat with quick runs at the backend of the innings – as his batting strike rate of nearly 141 suggests – apart from being a part of the leadership group, if not the captain itself.

Meanwhile, he and his countrymen David Warner as well as Steve Smith are set to miss the initial few games in the first leg of the tournament’s 15th edition owing to national commitments as Australia will be touring Pakistan until April 5, with the IPL likely to run between

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