Odean Smith: West Indian players starring in the IPL is a constant sight to see. Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Keiron Pollard, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are some of the prominent names and have achieved so much for their franchises over the years. Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are as much a part of their franchise as the franchise itself, Chris Gayle has two orange caps, and the most sixes, while Dwayne Bravo recently equalled Lasith Malinga for the most wickets.

While West Indies has produced a rich group of all-rounders, it looks like another big hitting all-rounder in their mould seems to be coming out. Odean Smith, the new star, is already a big name across franchise tournaments, coming to light in the CPL. With the bat he is as explosive as anyone, and has a 130 metre six to his name, from the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament. his technique is like his previous stars, but one variety is his ability to use the off-side.

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While the likes of Pollard and Russell keep targeting the V, Odean Smith is more flexible as he has a wide range of shots, taking on the off-side making it tougher for sides to set fields for the big hitter. With the ball, Odean Smith continues to be a bundle of talent. His first game didn’t go well at all, but his pace was right up their. He can touch speeds of 145+ with ease, is explosive, and just needs to work on his rhythm. With his pace, improvement in rhythm will make him an incredible bowler and with Rabada, PBKS will have a strong pace combo.

Against Bangalore, with a target of 205, Odean Smith walked in while the side was under pressure. In normal circumstances, PBKS are known to crumble under pressure in such moments and were on their way to make the task tougher. Another strong finisher in Shah Rukh Khan, was out in the middle but was struggling for timing. With Shah Rukh Khan not able to take off, Odean Smith took the initiative and went after Bangalore’s bowlers.

He took on Harshal Patel and Mohammad Siraj, hitting three sixes in a 25 run Siraj over. Odean Smith finished with 25 off just eight balls, winning the man of the match award in his first IPL game. He handled the pressure well, and came out with a brilliant cameo to take the game away from Bangalore. Before the game, India didn’t know too much about Odean Smith.

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His pace has already damaged Chris Gayle’s bat, and his batting has also damaged Sheldon Cottrell’s car. His talent was noticed in India after a decent series against the Indians. In the second ODI, with a stiff target, Odean Smith played a couple of good shots to gain attention. He couldn’t carry the team home, but some powerful hits and fast bowling helped him get into the spotlight, and franchises started to take note of the all-rounder.

He is full of talent and has started his IPL career in style. The tournament has a rich history of West Indies stars, and Odean Smith has a long way to go before creating his own legacy in the tournament. He has the potential, but it is still to be seen if he can withstand his early success and make consistent contributions in the tournament without falling away after a brilliant start.

He has got his team off to a great start and is giving them wonderful depth and options with bat and ball as the side has some incredible talent overall. While Odean Smith is still work in progress, he has announced himself and said hello to the IPL.

The IPL 2022 Auction is an even that can often spring up some surprises, and allow certain players to go higher than expected. With a lot of talent and lot to offer from a certain players, the Auction sees cricketers go at rates much greater than their base price, despite not much predictions being made. The surprising picks are not necessarily the highest paid, but they do end up having a lot more demand than expected in the IPL Auction.

IPL 2022 Auction Players to watch , here is the list

Odean Smith

Odean Smith is a fast-bowling all-rounder from Jamaica, and is very similar to Andre Russel. He can touch speeds of 90 miles per hour with ease, and is a very explosive six-hitter at the back end of the innings. His performance in the Caribbean Premier League was pretty good last season, and Smith is also starting to find his feet in international cricket.

He isn’t too experienced and his ability in India hasn’t been tested yet, and these factors could be on the franchises mind. Apart from his experience and ability in India though, Odean Smith could be a promising buy, and with his explosive ability he could go for a decent price when compared to his base price.

Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan made a name for himself in the TNPL, with his explosive hitting, and continued to do wonders in the domestic tournaments. He is now famous for his finishing abilities, and was a key player for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Ali Mushtaq Trophy and the Vijay Hazare trophy. In the previous IPL auction, Shah Rukh Khan had some strong demand as he went for over 6cr. He had a decent season, scoring fifty against Chennai, but couldn’t find a regular spot in the team. He has had a better year after the IPL, and has also made the national squad, which could help increase the demand for him in the IPL Auction.

Liam Livingstone

Liam Livingstone had a dream tournament while playing the hundred, and is in some strong form for England in the shortest format. His batting in the middle has been aggressive and consistent, but it has been his bowling which is making noise. With the ability to bowl both off and leg spin, Livingstone is a silent and economical customer in the middle overs. He has been running through his overs nicely, and choking teams. His bowling wasn’t used to much by the Rajasthan Royals, but this time it will have a huge role in the tournament, and that could be a factor that helps his price go up high.

KS Bharat

With all the franchises hitting the reset button, wicket-keepers will have a lot of demand. KS Bharat has been in the middle of a good run, and that helps him gather attention. He has played for India A consistently, and is a part of the Test side, subbing in nicely against New Zealand.

He was also pretty consistent for RCB last season, scoring runs at three and setting the innings up nicely for Glenn Maxwell and Ab De Villiers. Among all the consistency, Bharat rose to fame after a famous incident with Avesh Khan saw him hit a six to beat Delhi in a thrilling encounter. Recent events will definitely help the Andhra boy be among the top wicket-keepers to look out for in the IPL Auction.

Washington Sundar

As always, all-rounders generally tend to have a lot of takers in the IPL Auction. Washington Sundar is one who is very capable to attract interest as well. He is young, he can bat anywhere in the batting line-up, and bowls off-spin. He is very good with the new ball, giving silent overs up front, and can also open the batting as he did the job in the TNPL before. He is in good batting form, and has nearly breached the century on multiple occasions. With multiple utilities and age on his side, Sundar could have a lot of takers, and it will be interesting to see how teams use Sundar’s potential as he often goes unused in the IPL.

Jason Holder

Jason Holder is another quiet customer who can bring in a lot of value. He came in as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh in IPL 2020, and did a really good job with the ball as Sunrisers turned a poor tournament around and qualified. He took a lot of wickets in the middle-order while also providing stability in the middle order. As a bowler, Holder doesn’t have too much pace, which makes him go unnoticed. His height though allows him to extract awkward bounce, and he has the knack of getting lots of wickets in the middle overs.

Coming to his batting, Holder isn’t as explosive as an Andre Russell, but he can hit the big ones nicely. He is a calm cricketer who takes the game deep, and calculates his innings well. He knows how to hang around, and plays the situation nicely before going for the big ones. Despite his talents, Jason Holder often tends to go unnoticed, but his numbers are good enough to keep franchises interested, and he could easily surprise a lot of people in the IPL Auction.

Deepak Chahar

Since 2018, Deepak Chahar has been among the top bowlers in the powerplay. He has the ability to extract any amount of swong in the surface, and is priceless upfront, picking up key wickets early on. Along with his new-ball skills, Deepak Chahar is an improving death bowler, and has grown vastly in the last few years. He is also a handy lower order batter, and due to his all-round skills, Chahar can easily attract some strong bids in the auction. With the Chennai Super Kings likely to target him, Chahar will not go cheap, and may well break records as the most expensive fast bowler in the IPL Auction.