Whenever an IPL auction date comes close, the whole of the Indian domestic circuit awaits with patient eyes to see if they can win a contract or not. It’s obviously not easy for those players to get a sniff at the big-money contract, but the entire process of waiting to see their name go under the hammer to the eventual output, good or bad, is a hard time to deal with.

A lot of the young stars and even veterans of the game must be doing their prayers every day in a bid to win a contract. Besides that, they will also push the extra mile every day to fall in the eyes of the franchises, who tend to keep an eagle eye on a huge number of players. This is a very critical week for most of them, whose life could change with the striking of a small hammer.

Here are five such Indian cricketers who will be feeling the jitters but are expected to take away pretty expensive contracts from the tournament:

1. Sai Kishore

Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore was unfortunate to miss out on a contract last year, but that agony only made him work harder. After finishing the Ranji campaign on a high with Tamil Nadu last season, Sai Kishore was breathing fire with the white ball in both Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, playing a crucial role in helping his team reach the finals.

Kishore is one of the smartest off-break bowlers in the Indian domestic circuit and has proven it time and again. He definitely has a knack of picking up crucial wickets at crucial junctures, which made his presence all the more important for Tamil Nadu throughout the limited-overs season.

There are many teams in dire need of a good quality Indian spinner. The Royal Challengers Bangalore do have a quality spin attack but they could need some backup going into the tournament’s latter stages. The Sunrisers too could make a bid for him as the only Indian spinning options they have right now are Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma.

2. Shahrukh Khan

The youngster carries quite a burden with his name, which is very popular in this part of the world for other reasons. Shahrukh Khan has been playing a lot of domestic tournaments to keep himself relevant in the IPL mix and despite not getting a bid in all his previous attempts, Khan is expected to get one in the upcoming edition.

Shahrukh Khan represented Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and also is a big part of the Tamil Nadu Premier League side Lyca Kovai Kings. He scored 194 runs in the TNPL which happened a few months ago and looked very impressive for Tamil Nadu in India’s most elite domestic tournament for the shortest format.

Shahrukh Khan opens himself some good opportunities in the IPL, with good vacancies available at a lot of teams for all-rounder slots, especially the ones who belong to India. Besides the hard-hitting he is capable of, he can also provide a significant number of overs with his off-breaks.

3. Yashashvi Jaiswal

The U19 sensation who wrecked havoc in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Yashashvi Jaiswal will be joining the U19 side soon to represent the nation in the World Cup. Priyam Garg has been appointed as the captain of the U19 Indian team, but Jaiswal is expected to hog all the limelight due to his explosive batting style.

He joined a very elite list of Indian cricketers with a double hundred in List A cricket. His form has been one of the driving factors to push Mumbai into the knockouts of the limited-overs tournament, but unfortunately for the side, they lost in the knockout stages on both occasions. Jaiswal has made his mark and could cause a huge bidding war.

It is not so difficult to comprehend with a fact that the Mumbai Indians are in top contention to grab this young talent as they could pay an extra amount when compared to the rest, just to have another Mumbaikar in the batting lineup. Other sides which are looking for young Indian openers like Kolkata and Hyderabad also have a sniff.

4. Ganeshan Periyasamy

Another name from the Tamil Nadu state which is doing huge rounds among IPL team discussions is G Periyasamy, the 25-year-old spinner who represented the Chepauk Super Gillies in the 2019 edition. After his amazing performance in the TNPL, he was immediately picked up in the domestic side of the state for the Syed Mushtaq Ali.

Tamil Nadu had some very strange tactics going into few games, almost picking five spinners in the XI on occasions. But the likes of Periyasamy, M Siddarth, Murugan Ashwin and Sai Kishore didn’t let their skipper down and kept chipping in with important performances. Periyasamy’s unique action and trickery could cause a bidding war among the franchises.

Once again, some of the usual suspects who are eager to build their squads around young talents will be keeping a keen eye on Periyasamy, who successfully made it to the 332-member list of players who go under the hammer in this auction. The Chennai Super Kings could launch a big bid for this youngster.

5. Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi was once one of the most highly-rated young talents in the country. He is still very highly rated, but unfortunately for him, after his memorable season with the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, he never got a chance to bat in his favoured opening position with the Rajasthan Royals, resulting in his failure at the club.

Tripathi is a clean striker of the cricket ball and can always provide a spark out of nowhere while he is in the middle. What makes him a special player over the other talents among the Maharashtra contingent is his outrageous ability to shift gears in a span of few deliveries and not backing out if he’s asked to go the fully monty straight away.

Tripathi could have more interested buyers who will pouch on him once his name is under the hammer with the Rajasthan Royals leaving him for this season. There are teams who are looking for swashbuckling openers and someone like a Tripathi could fit the plans of RCB, KKR or Sunrisers as a backup opener.

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