There will be bidding wars for batsmen in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction that begins at 3:30 PM on Thursday in Kolkata. All the eight teams will tussle to get the best talents from the pool. Here is the list of five batters to watch out for:


Eoin Morgan



England World Cup-winning captain would be the primary pick for the Kings XI Punjab as they need a captain who can fill the shoes of R. Ashwin. Besides his captaincy skills, Morgan is a big-time hitter and has the capability of holding the middle-order together. The left-hander's 71-ball 148 against Afghanistan in the 50-over World Cup will be remembered forever.

Shimron Hetmyer



The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) released the 22-year-old but he proved his worth in the recently concluded 1st ODI against India in Chennai. The West Indian batsman is yet to make it big in the IPL as he was not at his best for RCB last season.

Chris Lynn



Released by Kolkata Knight Riders, Lynn will still have many suitors owing to his destructive nature at the top of the order and has a steep base price of Rs2 crore. Lynn holds the record of most sixes in Big Bash League history with 123 maximums and is also two runs adrift of the most runs scored (1947 by Michael Klinger) in the tournament's history.

Aaron Finch



The Australian limited-overs captain is again likely to be on top of Kings XI Punjab's list as a leader. Finch is also an explosive opener who, once gets going, can give a team a great start. He can also be part of the leadership group in any side and provide his key inputs.

Robin Uthappa



He might seem to be over the hill and was released by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the auction after a quiet 2019 season. But Uthappa might still be of interest to many franchises owing to their needs and the right-hander's ability to play big shots at the top of the order. Uthappa is a clean hitter of the cricket ball and also comes in with a lot of IPL experience.