With hours to go for the IPL 2020 Auction in Kolkata, pundits differ in opinion as to whether or not Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will be the star of the show when the battle lines are drawn on Thursday afternoon.

Ian Bishop spoke about Glenn Maxwell on the special show ‘vivo IPL auction curtain-raiser’ exclusively on Star Sports: “Glenn Maxwell can be a match-winner and win two, three or four matches a season so I think it might be worth a gamble with a guy who’s been here before and he’s won a few games occasionally, so you know exactly what you’re getting.”

Sanjay Manjrekar spoke about Mitch McClenaghan and Maxwell on the special show ‘vivo IPL auction curtain-raiser’ exclusively on Star Sports: “Mumbai Indians like Mitch McClenaghan’s spirit and I know Trent Boult is high on stature and has got more skill and experience, but somebody like McClenaghan has been there and played a couple of big matches, despite the fact that he has had a couple of setbacks. There’s been a season where he has gone for 25-30 runs and has had bad games but they still go back to him just because of the intensity that he brings in his performance.

“On Maxwell, there will be a lot of people doubting Maxwell’s consistency. There is the danger value with it, but, you know, it’s amazing how many times he has flattered to deceive some, so I have feeling owners may not be as excited as we think for Glenn Maxwell.”

For some it will be about finding the remaining pieces of their puzzle, while others with unsettled line-ups will look to add muscle and even overhaul the core of their sides.

As many as 332 cricketers (186 Indian, 146 overseas players) will go under the hammer at the auction with Australia’s all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and veteran South African fast bowler Dale Steyn among those opting for the highest base price of Rs2 crore.

It won’t be a big auction this time with only 73 slots there to be filled by the eight franchises and 29 of them can be foreign buys.

Kings XI Punjab have the maximum money to spend (Rs42.70 crore) and will look to rope in a captain after India’s premier Test off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals. KXIP might go all out for England’s World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan or Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch.