The auctions for IPL 2021 saw records being broken as Chris Morris fetched a whopping INR 16.25 crore to become the costliest player ever in the history of the Indian Premier League. Young gun Kyle Jamieson fetched INR 15 crore while Glenn Maxwell, despite a below par season last year got a salary hike as he was bought for INR 14.25 crore. Jhye Richardson made most use of the fact that not many fast bowlers were in the fray, as he fetched a whopping INR 14 crore.
We take a look at the insane bids, and analyze if the four were overpriced.
Chris Morris (INR 16.25 crore to Rajasthan Royals)
It was expected that the South African would fetch high bids as he can not only bowl in the death overs but is a great hitter of the ball as well while batting at number seven or eight. A fantastic T20 player, Morris is an asset to any T20 team that he played for, but whether he is worth the INR 16.25 crore that he fetched is questionable, mainly because of his history with injuries and the fact that he has not played much competitive cricket since the last edition of the Indian Premier League, where he played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Considering that Ben Stokes did not send down all of his four overs consistently in the last IPL, the Rajasthan Royals team were on the look-out for a player who can bowl his four overs and can send down a mean yorker at the death. However, considering his tryst with injuries, the final amount that was shelled out by the franchise could come back to bite them.
Kyle Jamieson (INR 15 crore to Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Considering the fact that a number of teams needed overseas pacers, it came as no surprise that New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson was a much sought after player in the IPL 2021 auctions. Kyle Jamieson has been unplayable on the wickets in New Zealand as he extracts steep bounce and gets movement off the pitch. However, he is relatively new – having made his debut only last year – and is still untested in the Indian conditions that are not the easiest for fast bowlers.
Jamieson also has not played many T20 games. Overall, he has picked up 54 wickets in 38 T20 games at an average of 20.59 with an economy rate of nearing 8. He blew hot and cold in the local T20 competition for his team Auckland recently, and how well he fares at the Chinnaswamy – a nightmare for bowlers – remains to be seen. Jamieson, with his 130kmph bowling could be blown away, and whether he can hit the big shots on the slow tracks in India is questionable as well.
Also Read: IPL 2021: 4 Surprise picks from the mini-auction
Glenn Maxwell (INR 14.25 crore to Royal Challengers Bangalore)
The case of Glenn Maxwell is a strange one. The Australian did not hit a single six in the Indian Premier League last season, following which he was released by his team Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). However, instead of teams being wary of purchasing Maxwell, they went all out and gave him a salary hike of over 14%, buying him for INR 14.25 crore. The Australian has not left much of an impact in the IPL since 2014 – he has crossed 200 runs only once since then, and has only two fifties since IPL 2014.
Maxwell is not the greatest player of spin, and it thus came as a surprise that teams shelled out such a large sum for the player.
Jhye Richardson (INR 14 crore to Punjab Kings)
The fast bowler had a sensational Big Bash League recently, where he ended as the highest wicket taker with 29 scalps. He was also expected to fetch big bids after fellow Australian Mitchell Starc pulled out of the IPL auctions due to personal reasons. With teams in the need for an overseas pacer, Jhye was much sought after, but the sum of INR 14 crore that he fetched defies logic.
Punjab Kings had a huge purse and they needed a fast bowler to accompany Mohammad Shami, but going after Jhye, who is injury prone and is not the most accurate at the death is questionable. He has an economy rate of 8.44 in T20s, which rises to 10.20 between overs 17-20 is surely not worth INR 14 crore, but his recent exploits might have forced teams to get him on board.
Also Read: IPL 2021: Biggest steals of the auctions
