Monday 20 February 2017 15:27, UK
The IPL auction takes place on Monday with a host of players from across the globe making themselves available for selection.
This year's international schedule means that, for the first time, a whole raft of England players have put themselves up and, given the white-ball performances of Eoin Morgan's side in the past couple of years, there is sure to be plenty of interest.
But of all those up for grabs, who should be the most sought after? We asked Rob Key to highlight his top five players who should attract the most attention from the IPL franchises…
The combination of his express pace with his slower ball can be devastating. There are not many who have completely deceived Yuvraj Singh, especially when he was in such good form, but Mills did that and I think that will have turned a few heads.
England's series against India came at the perfect time and all the big guns like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni would have seen him. There are a lack of fast bowlers in India, really, and there are a few franchises that are in need of a quick bowler.
The only downside to Mills is his fitness and whether he will be able to get through the whole IPL. I can't see how he doesn't at the moment and, for me, he is an out-and-out match-winner with the ball. More so because of his change-up rather than his outright pace. Out-and-out pace has gone the distance at times but express pace allied with a slower ball like his can be very handy.
All-rounders are very much sought-after at IPL auctions and someone like Stokes will be handy because he's one of the best fielders in the world, he can bowl at the start or at the death and also, I think there is an opportunity for him to be batting in the top three somewhere.
Whereas England's batting line-up with Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Sam Billings, Joe Root etc means he bats that bit lower down, I actually think his best position might be in the top three. I reckon that with that, you get absolute value for money.
He could bat in the middle order as he does for England but I just think that in IPL cricket, coming in during the powerplay could be his strongest position and if you add that to his bowling and his fielding, you've got a seriously good cricketer.
Rabada is quick enough and tall enough to be able to bowl a wicket-taking length early on and put batsmen under pressure with a good length delivery. He makes batsmen contemplate just trying to get through his overs.
He's 90mph-plus and he gets bounce and nip out of a length, even in India, then if you follow that up with yorkers at the end you are going to cause batsmen problems.
He's at an age where he will be desperate to impress and will want to be involved in everything. Rabada is arguably the most exciting bowler in world cricket, in all formats, and that ability to have enough pace to make batsmen think they only have limited options is crucial.
We've seen in domestic cricket in England, if you're quick enough and strong enough to get bounce from a good length then you can be a wicket-taker in the powerplay which can get you ahead of the game.
With Klinger you get a banker. Batsmen get a lot of credit in T20 for making one knock in a competition. They might get a hundred from 50 balls and everyone thinks it wins you the game - which it does - but actually if other than that you're only getting 30 here and there, it doesn't do much for you - you need more than that.
What Klinger does is churn out 60s, 70s and 80s: match-winning knocks. That is what you want from a batsman. You don't want someone who is going to come off one in five, you're looking for someone who can get you at least a 40 in four out of five innings. That is what Klinger does.
He might not look to be as destructive as a Chris Gayle or someone like that but if you look at his record, he just gets runs whatever the situation. He gets them more than quick enough, plays the right innings for the right occasion and often he is an opener who can be there at the end of a run-chase.
You're also likely to get more value for money with Klinger as, despite all the money bandied around, you wouldn't expect him to command the highest price.
I put a massive premiums on good all-rounders, albeit Mathews' bowling might let him down a bit sometimes.
He is still going to be able to do a bit for you in the middle overs and he is someone who can bat through the crucial stages of an innings, win a game whether it is five an over, 10 an over or whatever it is you need.
He's a real competitor too. I always used to have Andre Russell down as my No 1 pick because he'd be fielding in the hot-seat, bowling at the crucial times and batting when the game is on the line. That's when you turn to players like that.
Mathews may not do that with the ball but he certainly can with the bat, plus the fact that he is such an experienced player now when you come to the last seven overs or so of a tight game, you'd be more than happy to see him walking out to bat. He just has that class.
