Top 5 Young Players to watch out for at the 2022 IPL Auction

The 2022 IPL auction gets underway from the 12th of February in Bengaluru, and nearly 600 players are set to go under the hammer, with a maximum of 217 spots available across the ten IPL teams.

While there are plenty of international superstars such as David Warner, Jofra Archer and Shikhar Dhawan on the auction list, there are also some exciting up and coming talents that could fetch a million-dollar contract in 2022. Here are the top five young stars to watch out for at the IPL auction.

1. Devdutt Padikkal (Age: 21)

Devdutt Padikkal is one of the most promising young Indian batters in domestic cricket, and the stylish left-hander has already enjoyed an excellent start to his IPL career, winning the emerging player award in IPL 2020. The former RCB opener also scored 411 runs in his sophomore season with the team in 2021 and has listed himself at the highest base price of INR 2 crore at the auction.

2. Yash Dhull (Age: 19)

The Indian U-19 Captain was incredibly impressive with the bat at the ICC Men’s U-19 World Cup, leading the Men in Blue to their fifth title in the West Indies. The Delhi youngster scored a scintillating century against Australia in the semi-final, and despite missing a few games due to a Covid-19 infection, Dhull finished with 229 runs from four matches at an average of 76.

3. Rahul Chahar (Age: 22)

Rahul Chahar was one of the pivotal cogs in the Mumbai Indians side that won consecutive IPL titles in 2019 and 2020, and the leg-spinner has picked up 41 wickets in 38 matches for the five-time IPL champions. Chahar has also impressed in the six matches he played for India in the shortest format, and at 22-years old, the former Mumbai Indians star could be targeted by plenty of IPL teams as they look to build their core for the following 2 to 3 auction cycles. 

4. Washington Sundar (Age: 22)

Washington Sundar is one of the most promising spinners in Indian cricket and given his excellent track record in the IPL since 2017, the off-spinner could start a bidding war at the upcoming auction. Sundar has a brilliant economy of just 6.9 in 42 IPL matches, and the 22-year-old’s ability to bowl in the powerplay makes him an excellent match-up against left-handed openers. Moreover, Sundar offers some batting depth to the team at number eight and is already fairly experienced at the highest level, having played 31 T20I’s for India.

5. Dewald Brevis (Age: 18)

“Baby AB” Dewald Brevis lit up the ICC U-19 World Cup with his dazzling stroke-making, finishing with 506 runs in six matches – the most runs ever scored by a batsman in a single edition of the tournament. Brevis creamed three 50s & two 100s for South Africa U-19 in the World Cup, and the highly-rated youngster could attract plenty of bids from IPL teams in this auction, due to his extraordinary potential and ceiling.