IPL 2022 Auction, Day 1: Big-hitting opening batsmen who will attract huge bids

The hearts are racing as the bidding war among 10 franchises for 590 players contending for 217 possible slots is just around the corner. The power-packed IPL 2022 mega-auction will see the cricketing greats going under the hammer for the upcoming 15th edition of the cash-rich league. 

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Ahead of the auctions, IndiaTV looks at top opening batsmen who can get sky-rocketing prices for their repertoire with the willow. 

Shikhar Dhawan
India’s star opener Shikhar Dhawan who is often known as 'Gabbar' will invite huge interest in the upcoming auction. The left-handed opening batsman has been in stellar form in the recent IPL seasons where he featured for Delhi Capitals (DC). In 2019, Dhawan scored over 520 runs and aggregated 618 runs in IPL 2020 (avg 44.14) and became the first batsman in the tournament’s history to score two successive hundreds. 
Dhawan's show in IPL 2021 was no less where he collected 587 runs at an average of 39.13. The experienced opener will be eyed by many teams. 

Faf du Plessis
Former South African Captain, du Plessis has been killing it with the bat in the glitzy T20I league. Faf Du Plessis has been refining like a fine wine and is improving with age. He has been in stellar form as an opener for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In 2020, du Plessis collected 449 runs in the 13 matches and returned with an average of 40.81. In the 14th edition of the IPL, the right-handed batsman aggregated 633 in the 16 matches including six fifties. 

Rahul Tripathi
A right-handed batsman with around an average of 26.13 in IPL, Tripathi has emerged as a promising top-order batsman. He scaled up significantly ever since he donned the Kolkata Knight Riders jersey in 2020. In IPL 2020, Tripathi smashed 230 runs in 11 matches while collecting 397 runs from 17 matches in IPL 2021. Moreover, the purple brigade groomed Tripathi well as an opening batsman as he was seen walking down to the pitch to begin the chase for KKR. 

David Warner
The explosive opening batsman from Australia is highly talented and alone can change the colours of the game. An off-colour performance in the first leg of IPL 2021 robbed him of his Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captaincy spot. In the eight matches he played for the orange brigade, Warner returned with an average of 24.37. The Australian player endured a successful campaign in the T20 World Cup 2022 that Australia won and washed off his poor form mark. A captaincy material, Warner will grab much interest in the auction. Considered as one of the most destructive openers across formats, David Warner captained SRH to their maiden tournament win in 2016 and emerged as the second-highest run-scorer for them, scoring 848 runs at a strike rate of 151.42. He relished fine stints on the 2017 and 2019 IPL seasons as well. In 2020, SRH finished a no.3 spot in the points table under Warner's leadership. 

Quinton de Kock
The wicket-keeper batsman from South Africa, de Kock exhibited a good performance with the willow for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the last two seasons. A great asset with the bat in the opening pair, the Proteas player had a terrific 2020 season, scoring 503 runs including four half-centuries at the top. In IPL 2021, the left-handed batsman smashed 297 runs in 11 matches at an average of 29.70.

Ishan Kishan 
The fearless opening batsman- Ishan Kishan gives a solid option courtesy of his attacking technique. Despite Kishan being the top run-getter for Mumbai Indians (MI)  in the 2020 season, he was surprisingly released ahead of the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. During IPL 2020, Kishan scored 516 runs at an average of 57.33 while endured a mediocre season in 2021 where he hit 241 runs in the 11 matches. The 23-year old pocket size dynamite is all likely to gain immense interest.

Devdutt Paddikal
The 21-year old made the headlines during IPL 2020 when Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) gave this young lad an opening spot. Padikkal encashed the opportunity and displayed the brilliant run in IPL 2021 as well. In the total 29 IPL matches that Paddikal has played for RCB, he has smashed 884 runs at an average of 31.57. The young gun who has one hundred and six fifties under his belt can potentially be a hot bid in the opening spot.