The player list for the IPL mega auction was released on Friday. Of the 574 players, 12 are uncapped Malayalis, including Kerala Ranji captain Sachin Baby and a host of stars who impressed at the inaugural edition of Kerala Cricket League T20.
The other Malayalis in the auction list are Vishnu Vinod, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Rohan Kunnummal, Shoun Roger, Salman Nizar, Abdul Bazith, M Ajnas, Abhishek Nair, S Midhun, Vaisakh Chandran and Vignesh Puthur. All the Malayalis go into the auction with a base price of Rs 30 lakh each.
Sanju Samson, the most high-profile Kerala cricketer, was retained by Rajasthan Royals. He is not part of the mega auction.
The auction will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25. The auction will commence at 3 pm IST on November 24. Out of the 574 players, 366 are Indian, and 208 are overseas, including three players from associate nations.
The long list for the auction has 318 uncapped Indians, including 12 from Kerala, besides 12 uncapped overseas players. A total of 204 slots are up for grabs, of which 70 are available for overseas players. The highest reserve price if Rs 2 crore, with 81 players opting to be in the highest bracket. Jalaj Saxena and Baba Aparajith, who are guest players for Kerala, are also featured in the auction list for reserve prices of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 30 lakh respectively.
Meet the Malayalis
Sachin Baby
The 35-year-old left-hander is Kerala's leading run-getter in the Ranji Trophy. But he has also impressed in the shorter format. Most recently, Sachin was the leading run-getter in the inaugural Kerala Cricket League T20 with 528 runs from 12 innings, including a century. He led Kollam Sailors to the title. Sachin previously represented RCB in the IPL.
Vishnu Vinod
The right-hand wicketkeeper batter from Pathanamthitta last featured in the IPL in Mumbai Indians colours. The 31-year-old smashed a 45-ball 139 for Thrissur Titans in KCL.
Mohammed Azharuddeen
The right-hand wicketkeeper batter, aged 30, was the last part of RCB.
Salman Nizar
The 27-year-old left-hander was one of the most consistent performers in KCL with 455 runs from 12 innings. He has yet to be part of the IPL.
Shoun Roger
The 22-year-old from Thiruvananthapuram was yet to become a regular in Kerala's senior set up. He is a right-hand batter, who also bowls off spin.
Abdul Bazith
The 26-year-old right-hand batter, who bowls off-spin, has been part of three IPL franchises, Punjab Kings, KKR and Rajasthan Royals. He played one match of the Royals in 2023.
M Ajnas
The wicketkeeper-batter (27) from Wayanad has not been part of IPL.
S Midhun
The Alappuzha native is a leg spinner who was part of Rajasthan Royals in 2018 and 2019.
Vaisakh Chandran
The 28-year-old from Thiruvananthapuram is a right-hand batter and an off-spinner. He has not been part of IPL.
Vignesh Puthur
The right-hand batter is also a handy left-arm spinner. He is 24 and has not yet played in the IPL.
Abhishek J Nair
The 23-year-old was one of the breakout stars of KCL T20. He smashed a century for Kollam Sailors. Nair is a right-hand batter and off-spinner. He has yet to play in the IPL.
