The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 came to a thrilling conclusion as Himachal Pradesh defeated Tamil Nadu in the final. Over the last month, we saw some outstanding performances in the tournament. With the mega-auctions coming up, the IPL franchisees must have been keeping a close eye on the players who excelled in the competition.

Here are some of the top performers who can bag a big IPL contract in the upcoming mega-auctions:

Rishi Dhawan

The all-rounder from Himachal Pradesh last played an IPL match in 2016. In the 2021 season of Vijay Hazare Trophy, Dhawan scored the second-most runs and took the second-most wickets. He became the first player in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy to finish among the top five run scorers and top five wicket-takers in the same season.

This shows how valuable his role was in Himachal Pradesh winning the title. Given the high demand for Indian all-rounders in the IPL, it is certain that the upcoming season will mark his comeback in the cash-rich league. Heavyweights like the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, who prefer to field a large number of all-rounders, might hunt for the Himachal skipper in the auction.

KS Bharat

Andhra wicketkeeper had impressed everyone with his batting skills playing for RCB in IPL 2021. Bharat scored 191 runs at an average of 38.20 for the Bangalore franchise.

In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Bharat continued his excellent form, scoring 370 runs at an average of 92.50 in just five innings. He played two innings of 150+ runs in consecutive matches against Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat respectively.

Shahrukh Khan

The Tamil-Nadu all-rounder had a remarkable tournament to say the least. With an astounding strike rate of 186.02, the powerful hitter scored 253 runs in seven innings, including two half-centuries. After watching his exploits in the tournament, Punjab Kings owners might be regretting their decision of releasing the youngster.

Ragupathy Silambarasan

The right-arm pacer from Tamil Nadu claimed 15 wickets in only seven appearances and was instrumental in leading his side to another final. Ragupathy finished 4th in the list of highest wicket-takers in this edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy.

IPL owners usually spend a lot of money on Indian fast bowlers and hence he could be a hot pick in the mega-auctions. Reportedly, the pacer has already received calls from many teams for the trials.

---