As the impending Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 mini-auction draws near, teams are diligently strategizing to create their optimal player combinations, exploring various permutations and combinations.
1166 players have enrolled for the IPL 2024 auction
A substantial pool of 1166 players has enrolled for the IPL 2024 auction, although not all will find themselves in the auction room. The ten franchises are actively engaged in discussions to curate a list of players they express interest in acquiring. Subsequently, these individual team lists are amalgamated, and the IPL organizing committee compiles a definitive roster of players slated for the auction.
The upcoming auction promises excitement, with notable players like Travis Head, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Starc, Daryl Mitchell, and Gerald Coetzee emerging as key figures to watch.
Renowned Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, in a recent YouTube discussion, shared his insights on the potential target for the upcoming IPL 2024 auction, singling out Gerald Coetzee as the focus of attention. Ashwin confidently predicts that the Mumbai Indians (MI) are poised to be the primary contenders in the race to acquire Coetzee.
Coetzee’s seamless fit into the Mumbai Indians
Articulating his reasoning, Ashwin emphasizes Coetzee’s seamless fit into the Mumbai-based franchise, lauding the player’s skills and anticipating his substantial contribution to the team’s dynamics. Notably, the right-arm off-spinner adds a twist to the narrative by suggesting that MI might deviate from pursuing the highly valued Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, despite the team holding a substantial purse of INR 17.75 crore for the impending mini-auction.
“Gerald Coetzee is a very Mumbai Indians player. That blue jersey with gold on him, bowling at the Wankhede Stadium, bustling in—he looks like an MI sort of a player. If they don’t get anybody, I think they are going for him. In my view, they might not even go for Mitchell Starc”.
– Ravichandran Ashwin
These two names everybody wants to acquire
Ashwin foresees the likelihood of a fierce bidding battle among franchises vying for Australian pacers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the upcoming IPL 2024 auction. While acknowledging the remarkable skills of these two players, he has expressed reservations about their potential availability, pointing to scheduling conflicts with the Ashes and the T20 World Cup 2024. The cricketer from Chennai suggests that the decision by Cummins and Starc to possibly withdraw from the IPL wouldn’t be unexpected, considering the calendar clashes they face.
“Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are the only two fresh guys. Though there are guys like Rachin Ravindra, Gerald Coetzee, and a few other names, it looks pretty sure that these are the two names everybody wants to acquire. “The Ashes” is going to come, as is the T20 World Cup, and there is a heavy chance that Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are going to pull out of the tournament, and it is there in their histories,” the legendary spinner said on his YouTube channel.
