Eyes on Rishabh, Rahul in battle of bids

Mitchell Starc carried his sharp tongue into the Perth Test, telling ex-Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate Harshit Rana to be prepared to face bouncers that will be faster than what he was dishing out to him. The Aussie fielders were also heard on stump mic reminding Rishabh Pant about the IPL auction. Even the verbals in the Border-Gavaskar Test series have an IPL flavour.

- Rasesh Mandani

For two days, the cricket world will be focused on Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where 577 players are listed to go under the hammer to fill 204 slots in the IPL mega auction. For some, November 24-25 could bring life-changing money. Australia bowling coach Daniel Vettori left the Perth Test midway, as did Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer giving up commentary duties, to join the auction table as head coaches of Punjab Kings and LSG respectively.

Each franchise has 20% more money this time (₹120 crore) to complete their squads. Following the retentions, which was trickier than ever with the fourth and fifth retention costing more money, franchises still have ₹641.5 crore in hand. Expect at least one, perhaps two players, to bag a ₹20 croreplus deal. Starc's 24.75 crore earning from last year's mini auction is a high threshold, but who knows? The other upper limit to beat is Heinrich Klaasen's 23 crore retention sum spent by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), a story by itself.