IPL auction 2021: Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell most likely of Aussies to command big money

After taking the Big Bash League by storm with the ball and up-skilling his batting technique, Australia is primed to have another million-dollar player in the Indian Premier League.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 22: Jhye Richardson of the Scorchers celebrates getting the wicket of Matthew Wade of the Hurricanes during the Big Bash League match between the Hobart Hurricanes and the Perth Scorchers at Marvel Stadium, on January 22, 2021, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

A grand total of $35 million will be splashed on the world’s hottest Twenty20 cricketers on Thursday night – but some of Australia’s biggest superstars are set to be left on the shelf.

The Indian Premier League will auction off 61 cricketers, but only 22 of those contracts will go to overseas players, with Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson and Steve Smith the Aussies who are most likely to command mega dollars.

Australia assistant Andrew McDonald shapes as a key dealmaker with Rajasthan Royals, which he also coaches, boasting more than $6.5 million in their purse as they hunt three overseas and six domestic stars.

IPL Auction will be live on Fox Cricket and Kayo ay 8.30pm AEDT Thursday

Jhye Richardson is right in the frame for the big pay day at the IPL auction.

The initial registry of 1114 global cricketers has been shortlisted to 292 by the franchises, which is made up of 164 Indians and 128 internationals from 15 countries, including the USA.

Aaron Finch was released from his eighth IPL franchise last month and with blazing English openers Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Sam Billings and Dawid Malan available, and plenty of teams retaining their openers, Australia’s white-ball captain is no sure thing to find a home.

Similarly Matthew Wade, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey and Dan Christian are also unsure whether they will land rich deals. About six or seven Aussies are likely to be celebrating, joining the 11 who were retained by their franchises.

But IPL auctions are notoriously unpredictable. Last year Marcus Stoinis seemed destined to miss out until a late bidding war earned him $980,000 in a matter of minutes, and he has been retained on that salary by Ricky Ponting’s Delhi Capitals.

Disappointment could be short-lived though, with every player set to go under the hammer in 2022 when the IPL expands to include two new franchises and explodes with the richest auction in history.

That mega auction will see the price ceiling shattered and a club which wants to build its future around Indian captain Virat Kohli could throw the megastar as much as $4 million.

Richardson’s improved batting is a real bonus for any prospective team.

A lot of the pre-auction buzz this year has centred on 24-year-old Richardson, who led the Big Bash League with 29 wickets and sent down 152 dot balls.

Richardson could become a millionaire overnight and his value is only inflated by the fact Mitchell Starc is not in the auction.

Multiple franchises have expressed their interest in Richardson, who has also become a lower-order threat with the bat due to up-skilling his technique while recovering from another bout of shoulder surgery.

While plenty of IPL owners dismiss BBL form because they view the tournament as second-rate, they target certain qualities – airspeed, death bowling, spinners who can turn it both ways and six hitters.

Richardson is blessed with airspeed and without that weapon batters can easily line bowlers up on slow Indian pitches which don’t offer much assistance.

That could also see uncapped Aussie Riley Meredith rocket into contention at the auction.

Riley Meredith might be a chance of picking up a decent IPL contract.

Aussie coaches Simon Katich (Royal Challengers Bangalore), McDonald (Rajasthan Royals) and Ponting (Delhi Capitals) have been busy plotting their tactics in recent weeks.

Katich has been working around the clock and has completed a gap analysis of every other team, as well as several mock auctions, to try and get a handle of where players will land and how much they will command.

Franchises know how much cash is in each other’s purses and they often bid up the worth of a player so that the buyer overspends and is left with little money for the back end of the draft.

That ploy helped Patrick Cummins land $3.2 million after a bidding war won by Kolkata last year, a monstrous salary which Cummins has retained.

It will be a quiet night for some franchises with David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad and Josh Hazlewood’s Chennai Super Kings only having room for one more international.

Sunrisers will also secure two domestic players and has $1.9 million in its purse.

The IPL takes on extra importance for T20 World Cup aspirants, given the October-November tournament will also be held in India.

Maxwell didn’t hit a six in last year’s IPL and is back in the auction eight years after his life changed forever with a $1 million deal at Mumbai, which was scored two days after he smacked 51 not-out (35) in an ODI against West Indies.