Colin Munro set for big payday in IPL auction

After hitting his third international T20 century this week, Black Caps opener Colin Munro is about to hit the jackpot.

Munro moved to number one in the ICC T20 batting rankings yesterday further enforcing his position as one of the biggest names in the format.

How big? We'll find out when the Indian Premier League auction takes place later this month.

Overnight the IPL teams announced the players they will retain for the 2018 edition ahead of the January 27 auction. No Black Caps were kept on with the likes of Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Martin Guptill all set to go through the auction process again.

Last year Boult became a prized asset for Kolkata Knight Riders with the left arm swing man bought by Kolkata for $NZ1.04 million.

30-year-old Munro, who has already signed on for the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League, played in the 2016 IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders after fetching a low auction base price of $67,000.

He could expect well more than 10 times that in the next auction.

Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals could be likely spots for Munro with the most money to play with for the auction.

After becoming the first ever batsman to score three centuries in international T20s with his 104-run effort against the West Indies on Wednesday night, Munro was ranked the No.1 batsman in the format in the world.

His efforts in the West Indies series saw him jump 11 places in the world rankings to sit ahead of Australian Aaron Finch in the standings.

Fellow Kiwi Kane Williamson fell two spots to seventh.

Ish Sodhi joined Munro on top as the No.1 ranked bowled after picking up two wickets in Wednesday night's match. The leg spinner made a big jump up the rankings of his own, moving from 10th.

"I'm really grateful for the success I've had and I'm stoked to be ranked number-one. It hasn't really sunk in just yet, but I'm sure it will as the days progress," Sodhi said.

"I've been trying to find a really good balance between attacking and defending, and I think it's getting better and better the more I play.

"I played club cricket with Colin when I was about 15-years-old and he handed me my first premier cricket cap. So, I'm stoked to see him doing what he is doing at the highest level.

"We've been a really good T20I side for quite some time now and I think it's probably down to how we adapt to conditions and also our leadership - the boys have been really good at helping us young players."

The pair become just the second Kiwi duo to sit atop the rankings at the same time, after Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori in 2009 and 2010.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.