Form across formats will dictate franchise interest at IPL auction

Recency bias has always influenced the bidding no matter how scientific and data driven the process becomes

- Rasesh Mandani

Marco Jansen can strike the ball cleanly, even though it's not his primary skill. Two meters tall, the South African gets the new ball to swing or lift sharply off the surface. Yet to enjoy a breakthrough season, Jansen's numbers from his four IPL editions don't reflect the skills he has. It could all change next year.

Jansen is likely to be one of the sought-after all-rounders when the paddles go up in the upcoming IPL mega auction in Jeddah on November 24-25. Making good use of his long levers, he smashed 83 runs in the last 29 balls he faced in the T20I series against India last week. Look at his big hitting as an add-on to his bowling - 3/119 at ER of 7.43 - and that's a solid all-round contribution to attract a bidding war.

Arshdeep Singh became the highest T20I wicket-taker for India in the same South Africa series which India won 3-1. The left-arm pacer would be thrilled with how his decision to refuse retention and try to discover true value in the auction with timely performances have worked.

Pacers in demand

With only six frontline pacers featuring in the 46 pre-auction retentions from the 10 teams, fast bowlers will remain in high demand. Arshdeep's recent spells may help him nudge the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami when it comes to pricing.