IPL dream alive for 57 South Africans

With the player auction for the Indian Premier League looming 57 South African players have thrown their hat into the ring.

282 foreign players have registered themselves for the auction that has changed the careers of many a player.

Among those vying for places in cricket’s richest T20 League are Proteas superstars Hashim Amla, David Miller, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada.

They will be vying to join AB de Villiers who was retained by his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chris Morris who stays in Delhi with the Daredevils.

Records could very well be broken at the auction with such illustrious names as Chris Gayle, Chris Lynn, Ben Stokes and Mitchell Starc available for sale after the retention selections were made.

England skipper Joe Root could be set for a first ever stint in the Indian Premier League having registered himself for the auction along with 25 other English players.

South Africa have the second highest number of foreign players registered for the auction with Australia having one more player registered to have a tally of 58.

One player whose nationality is still up in the air may have brought himself into contention. Jofra Archer still looks set to wait out naturalization with his stated ambition to play for England but right now he could be bound for an IPL spell after his brilliant displays in the Big Bash League.

The Black Caps Colin Munro has done his cause no harm by racking up T20I centuries against the West Indies while his skipper Kane Williamson is also likely to be a sought after acquisition.

Some of India’s most popular players of all-time are also up for grabs with Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh looking for a team.

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The timing of the Big Bash League means that Australian players are especially well positioned to leave an impression ahead of the auction with names like Glenn Maxwell and Shane Watson being considered alongside more left-field selections like D’Arcy Short.

Aussie skipper Steve Smith was retained by the Rajasthan Royals who return to replace 2017 finalists the Rising Pune Supergiant.

Look for the Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals to spend big having each retained just one of the possible three players they were allowed.

The auction will take place on Jnauary 27-28 in Bengalaru.

The country-wise breakdown of 282 overseas players is as below.