Five biggest steals in the IPL auctions so far

20 days to go. On February 12, all eyes will be on the ITC Gardenia in Bangalore where the player auction for the 2014 edition of the Indian Premier League will take place. Franchisees must now be considering who will be worthy picks and who won’t be. There will be some players who might not command such a big price but would add to the performance of the team significantly. Here is a look at 5 of them who have already made a mark in the IPL despite being among the lesser paid ones.

5. David Miller

From being a $100,000 buy in the 2012 auction to getting retained by the franchise, David Miller has become quite the T20 Star playing for the Kings XI Punjab. Although Miller played only 6 games in the 2012 tournament, he shot into prominence in the 2013 edition. His whirlwind 101 against RCB in the 2013 IPL will live on as among the best innings ever played in the IPL. Miller scored 418 runs in the 2013 IPL at a staggering average of above 50, and at the strike rate at which he scores his runs, that is a tremendous achievement. Throw in the mix, some exhilarating fielding, and David Miller was quite the bargain buy for the Kings XI Punjab.

4. Kevon Cooper

At $50,000, Kevon Cooper has probably been the most under-valued overseas player in the entire IPL. His useful medium pace coupled with the ability to strike a few lusty blows make him an excellent utility player to have in T20 Cricket. For the Royals, Cooper was Rahul Dravid‘s go-to man during the death overs, whose mix of yorkers and slower balls always had the batsmen confused. Cooper proved to be the ideal foil for the likes of James Faulkner and Pravin Tambe in the Royals bowling attack. He picked up 19 wickets in 14 games in 2013.

3. Dwayne Bravo

When one thinks of Dwayne Bravo these days, the first things that come to mind are “He’s past it”, or “a wasted talent”, but for MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings, Bravo has been an asset. In a side skewed with exceptional batsmen and limited bowling resources, Bravo lent some decisive balance to the side. With Albie Morkel fading away as the seasons progressed, Bravo went from being the support all-rounder to being the team’s strike bowler. Also, Bravo’s ability with the bat cannot be discounted. He has made more than one noteworthy contribution for CSK with his power hitting towards the end. In 2013, Bravo won the Purple Cap, given for the highest wicket-taker in the tournament.

2. Mike Hussey

It was a surprise when, in the 2011 auction, Chennai Super Kings managed to keep hold of Hussey for a sum of $425,000. Hussey brought all his experience and skill to the fore as he forged a solid opening combination with Murali Vijay, thereby giving a solid base to CSK’s batting firepower which rested in the middle order. Hussey wasn’t left behind in the run-scoring by any means. He finished 2011 and 2013 as CSK’s highest run-getter besides also winning the ‘Orange Cap’ in 2013.

1. AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers is quite the package for any form of the game. In an auction when the likes of Saurabh Tiwary went for $1.6 million, the fact that RCB managed to get de Villiers for $1.1 million made quite a few jaws drop. De Villiers’ combination of pure stroke play, power, and innovation makes him a very difficult batsman to stop. He manages to score runs to the weirdest of places, which makes it very hard for a captain to set a field to him. In the field, he is nothing short of breath-taking, be it with the gloves on or in the outfield. He is fleet-footed and has a very safe pair of hands. It came as absolutely no surprise that he was retained by RCB for the upcoming IPL.