IPL auction 2024: Shahrukh Khan and 4 more uncapped Indians who could see big bidding

Shahrukh Khan has played for the Punjab Kings before. (Photo via X/@Jay_Cricket18)

Tuesday’s IPL 2024 auction in Dubai isn’t a mega-auction, by any stretch of the imagination. Having drawn lessons from their campaigns in 2023, franchises have their cores in place and are only seeking to top up their resources after having dealt in the trading market or released players back into the auction pool.

By its very definition, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is more about the Indian players – considering every playing XI must contain at least seven locals and the Impact Player rule allows for an eighth option too – and therefore they are the drivers, the engine room around which campaigns are built and mounted. As ever, therefore, much attention will centre around several of the uncapped stars who have caught the eye, either with one standout performance or the other in previous editions, or who have attracted the attention of the various talent scouts, especially with their exploits at the inter-state T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Here's a look at five uncapped Indian players who are likely be in serious demand at the IPL 2024 auction:

SHAHRUKH KHAN

He might have the same name as the Badshah of Bollywood, but strapping Tamil Nadu lad Shahrukh Khan is a self-confessed fan of Salman Khan. Standing six feet six inches in his socks, the 28-year-old packs quite a punch, evidenced by a strike-rate of 133.52 and 57 sixes from 70 innings in all representative T20 cricket.

Shahrukh is no stranger to the IPL, having turned out for Punjab Kings in the last three years. Bought for Rs 5.25 crore by Punjab Kings ahead of the 2021 season following his exploits for Tamil Nadu during their march to the Mushtaq Ali title, he was bought back by the same franchise for Rs 9 crore the following year.

However, Punjab and Shahrukh himself will feel he hasn’t done justice either to his immense potential or his massive price tag. In 33 matches and 31 innings over the last three seasons, the right-hander has managed just 426 runs at an average of 20.29 and a strike rate of 134.81. However, he hasn’t been used optimally by the franchise and often been left to his own devices. For Tamil Nadu, he is a vastly effective performer in both white-ball formats and has been in good touch in the two domestic limited-over tournaments, so it won’t be in the realms of fantasy for him to spark a hot bidding war in the desert.

VIVRANT SHARMA

It’s surprising, to say the least, that Sunrisers Hyderabad released the left-handed batsman back into the auction pool after their disastrous 2023 campaign, given that in his only knock in the tournament, Vivrant Sharma did everything that was asked of him, and more.

His exploits in the 2022-23 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy caught the eye of the Sunrisers management, who splurged Rs 2.5 crore on the Jammu & Kashmir player and then left him out on the bench for most of their 2023 season. Vivrant is a rare breed in that he is a finisher who is an Indian; most teams rely on overseas talent for the finisher’s role and so the Hyderabad franchise would have been expected to make better use of him but for reasons best known to them, they chose to ignore him.

Also a useful legspinner, Vivrant showcased his skills in his only hit during IPL 2023, with a blazing 69 off just 47 deliveries against Mumbai Indians right towards the end of the tournament. With nine fours and two sixes against a formidable bowling attack, he appeared to have done enough to warrant retention, but the 2016 champions opted to let go of him. At a base price of Rs 20 lakh, the 24-year-old should be a much sought-after resource.

Vivrant Sharma (Photo via X/@RambanShubam)

HRITHIK SHOKEEN

At first glance, Hrithik Shokeen’s numbers may not look all that impressive, but statistics don’t always tell the full story, do they? Shokeen, a former India Under-19 international, made his T20 debut when he played for the Mumbai Indians against the Chennai Super Kings in 2022 as a 21-year-old, and while he has only figured in 13 games in two seasons for the five-time champions, he is an all-round package well worth investing in.

Primarily an off-break bowler with a big heart, Shokeen is a feisty competitor who bats without fear and is a livewire on the field. He has age on his side and has shown himself to be a quick learner; Mumbai might have had their reasons for dispensing with his services, but it is possible that teams that play on surfaces at home that suit spin – such as Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders – will keep a keen eye out for him at the auction. The return of Gautam Gambhir as KKR mentor could work in the 23-year-old Shokeen’s favour – he plays domestic cricket for Delhi – though he will feel that he has the skills as a cricketer to merit being bought on his own steam. His base price, Rs 20 lakh, could also be one of the factors that could tilt the scales in his favour.

KARTIK TYAGI

Kartik Tyagi’s is a tale less fulfilled; an anomaly he will be desperate to correct if he finds favour at the IPL 2024 auction. One of the prime movers behind India’s charge to the final of the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa in 2020 when he took 11 wickets, Tyagi promised much but has flattered to deceive, his mercurial temperament often his worst enemy.

Kartik Tyagi (Photo via X/@CricketClue247)

Impressed by his performances in South Africa, the Uttar Pradesh speedster was acquired for Rs 1.30 crore by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2020 season, which remains his best to date. In ten matches in IPL 2020, he grabbed nine wickets, though his economy of 9.61 was a little on the higher side and revealed his propensity to get carried away. But he still did enough to catch the eye of the Indian team management and was one of the ‘net’ bowlers on their Test tour of Australia during the pandemic, in 2020-21.

Tyagi has been there and thereabouts since then, not really stepping up to the plate but producing occasional bursts of brilliance that make it impossible to ignore him totally. He is still only 23 and ought to attract interest on the basis of his potential, if not his pedigree, all other things being equal.

SUMIT KUMAR

To the uninitiated, Sumit Kumar is a journeyman cricketer, a late bloomer who hasn’t set the stage afire in domestic cricket. But scratch the surface, and you will find a handy all-rounder – a powerful late-order smash-and-grab batsman and a brisk medium-pacer. He isn’t quite Hardik Pandya or even Shardul Thakur, but Sumit is an extremely useful option to possess, as Haryana have discovered at the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Sumit Kumar (Photo via X/@clubvitaeagency)

The 28-year-old averages 28.70 and has a strike-rate of 134.74 in 45 T20 games; throw in 43 wickets and an economy rate of 7.37 runs per over, and the picture is somewhat clearer – here is a cricketer with more than one impressive string to his bow and, if handled properly, can be an excellent hand if not a serial match-winner.

Surplus to requirement to IPL franchises in the past, Sumit has yet to occupy even the dugout during the IPL, but all that could change in the next few days, depending on when his name comes up for sale and how the auction dynamics play out. He has done all he can to make a case for himself, of that there is little doubt.