Former West Indies captain, Jason Holder will be expected to earn some high bids in the mega-auction of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), especially from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). According to the latest reports of PTI, RCB has reserved up to INR 12 crore for Jason Holder owing to his multiple skill-sets, which is a rarity in this format.

Describing the same, one of the sources of PTI said, “Ben Stokes isn’t available, Hardik Pandya and Marcus Stoinis are taken. Mitchell Marsh, you never know whether he can survive a full IPL with his injury-prone career, Holder has been phenomenal if one looks at his record. RCB will like to go the distance as some others will also pitch in.”

It is understood that RCB, who have INR 57 crores in their auction purse will also be expected to show some keen interest in former CSK batter Ambati Rayudu and young all-rounder, Riyan Parag.

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Elaborating the same, the source said, “For Holder, they have reserved INR 12 crores and another INR 8 crores for Rayudu and Rs 7 crore for Parag. If they spend INR 27 crores approximately on these players, they would have another INR 28 crores left. The core with Kohli, Maxwell, Siraj, Holder, Rayudu, and Parag will be set. Let’s hope they can get two out of preferred three.”

Talking about the worth of the all-rounders, one of the senior officials of Rajasthan Royals said, “Chris Morris was a good cricketer but was he worth Rs 16 crore plus when he got that? Perhaps no but the paucity of all-rounders made some franchises desperate. Same for Yuvraj Singh’s 15 crores by Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) back in 2015, when he was already well past his sell-by date. It was a brand plus market.”

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In the case of Ambati Rayudu, his contribution to CSK’s success has been immense. He has enlisted as a keeper-batter for this auction and therefore the multi-dimensional skill-sets along with his experience can fetch him some high numbers.

Talking about Riyan Parag, the source said, “Parag had a poor 2021 IPL after a good edition in 2020. He is a big hitter who also gives a bowling option with his tight off-breaks, making him a viable proposition. The RCB is also looking at a potential captaincy candidate after Virat Kohli stepped down post last season. Whether they buy someone like Shreyas Iyer or request Kohli to do it for one more season is the question.”