“The IPL has taken the sports of cricket by storm. With the IPL, cricket has transformed into a much-awaited festival every year.”
Sachin Tendulkar (The God Of Indian Cricket)
Quoted by the master blaster that IPL in itself has become one of the most-cherished cricket leagues across the world that showcases the finest talent in the business along with a whole lot of action and drama on and off pitches.
The championship is popular not only for the quality of the game that’s displayed but also for the amount of money it spins through the economy. IPL has consistently been one of the top contributors in the GDP of the Indian economy in the past couple of years. Every year before the start of the tournament the franchises indulge in an official auctioneer to bid and grab the best gems in their teams. IPL auction is making headlines for all sorts of reasons being Pat Cummins the most expensive overseas buy to some of the most potential players joining the IPL powerhouses.
Wouldn’t you want to know why the auction has been such an action-packed event? Let’s walk through the saga behind the exciting event:
In total 332 players were about to go under the IPL 2019 auction. They were picked from the 971 entries that got registered for the event. Among these cricketers, there were in total of 186 Indian cricket players that went through the auction. INR 2 crore was quoted as the highest base price or the reserve price for the tournament auction.
The event witnessed the participation of foreign legendary players like Dale Steyn, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, Angelo Mathews, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, and many more. From the Indian cricketing front elite cricket gems like Kohli, Varun Chakravarthi, Piyush Chawla, Priyam Garg, and others joined the IPL bandwagon.In total seven overseas cricketers named Mitchell Marsh, Dale Steyn, Angelo Mathews, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, and Chris Lynn filled in the highest brackets.
Besides, in the 2019 IPL auctioneer list, the hard-hitting batting powerhouse Robin Uthappa is the only Indian cricketer having a base price of INR 1.5 crore. For other Indian players like Yusuf Pathan, Jaydev Unadkat, and Piyush Chawla the base amount was set INR 1 crore.
Why Not Take A Look At Some Of The Major Buys Of The IPL 2019?
Overall, the 2019 auction was full of shocks and surprises as many unknown or lesser-known youth cricketers joined the IPL giant squads that too for huge amounts of monies. On the other hand, a couple of cricketing legends signed the contract at the lowest prices and many remained unsold.
I. Pat Cummins: Undoubtedly The Biggest Money Spinner For 2020 IPL
The Aussie pacer became the center of attention for everyone in the IPL auction as he was the most sought-after cricketers in the event. Powerhouses like the Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore were eyeing for this dynamic, young and skilled player. In the end, Kolkata Knight Riders signed him at a whopping amount of INR 15.5 crores.
Cummins was the happiest person on the earth as he became the most expensive overseas player in Indian Premier League history. He leveraged his Twitter to express his gratitude and excitement in the form of a video and said: “Absolutely pumped to be back on board …Can’t wait to get over there,”. Earlier, Yuvraj Singh was the most expensive Indian buy in the history of IPL and Ben Stokes was the highest paid in the foreign squads but Pat broke his record.
II. Glenn Maxwell: The Evergreen Aussie All-Rounder
Maxwell was on a break due to some health issues but returned to the IPL landscape before the 2020 season and was a part of the IPL 2019 auction. In the history, Glenn played for some of the finest IPL teams like Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, and Delhi Capitals. This season Kings XI bought him for INR 10.75 crore. Maxwell has an average of 22.9 in the IPL to date by scoring 1,397 runs and now the Punjab fans are expecting a lot from him going forward in the 2020 season.
III. Chris Morris: The South African All-Rounder Prodigy
Chris has earlier played for Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, and the Rajasthan Royals. In the 2019 IPL auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore fetched him by paying a smashing amount of INR 10 crores. There was a war between Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, RCB, and Rajasthan Royals to pick this young player. In the end, the Bangalore squad managed to outbid the other teams to grab him.
IV. Sheldon Cottrell: The Young & Energetic West Indian Bowler
In the IPL 2019 auction event, Sheldon Cottrell was cherry-picked by the Kings XI Punjab at a staggering amount of INR 8.5 crore. Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals were also eyeing the young West Indian bowler but Punjab acquired him. To date, Sheldon has maintained an economy of 8.09 by grabbing 30 wickets in 22 matches in the T20 games playing for the West Indians team.
V. Nathan Coulter-Nile: Another Aussie Pacer & Batsman
Nathan was fetched by the defending IPL winners Mumbai Indians by paying a huge amount of INR 8 crore. They have taken him back in their squad after six years because he has showcased the finest batting skills by hitting 92 runs in just 66 deliveries against the West Indian team in the ICC World Cup 2019 match.
VI. Piyush Chawla: The Most Expensive Indian IPL Buy
This young Indian spinner became the most expensive Indian buy in the IPL 2020 by making a shift from the Kolkata Knight Riders to the Chennai Super Kings by signing a contract with the latter at INR 6.75 crore. The Chennai squad is expecting a lot out of Chawla’s leg-spin and he is anticipated to emerge as one of the most potential bowlers in the upcoming IPL season.
VII. Varun Chakravarthi: The Young All Rounder From Tamil Nadu
Varun became one of the most sought-after Indian cricketers in the IPL auction of 2019 as Kolkata Knight Riders paid INR 4 crore to buy him. With this, he has earned the recognition of being the second-most expensive Indian buy in the IPL landscape. Earlier, Varun played in the Kings XI Punjab squad and grabbed a wicket by giving 35 runs. Now, what KKR has seen in him is something that would be worth exploring in the 2020 IPL season.
VIII. Jason Roy: The British Batting Wizard
Jason Roy was signed by the Delhi Capitals at a whopping Rs. 1.5 crore in the 2019 IPL auctioneer. The Delhi fans are expecting him to be an aggressive hitting opener as the batsman is having the finest batting acumen and is capable of demolishing world records. No other IPL franchise bid for Roy and hence the Delhi Capitals must have seen some real potential in him, as a result, he joined the Delhi Daredevils squad.
IX. Pravin Vijay Tambe: The Oldest IPL Gem & One Of The Most Shocking IPL 2020 Buy
IPL 2019 auction witnessed another shocking moment when Pravin Tambe the oldest players (48 years) was signed by the Kolkata Knight Riders at Rs. 0.2 crores. In 2014, Tambe performed the best in his career by grabbing 15 wickets in 13 matches and 2016 appeared last time in the Indian Premier League.
Being in a team where there are two other bowlers Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav, how much time Tambe will get to showcase his skills is something that will be revealed in the IPL 2020 tournament only.
Some Of The Cricketers Who Remained Unsold In IPL 2019 Auction
Among so many players who got sold at such whopping amounts, there were a few cricketers who remained unsold in the IPL auction of 2019. Some of the major names joining the list are Chesteshwar Pujara, Naman Ojha, Stuart Binny, Hanuma Vihari, Zahir Khan, Manoj Tiwary, Rohan Kadam, Colin de Grandhomme, and many more.
Apart from these players, some of the most unlucky players remained unsold in the IPL 2019 auction. Carlos Brathwaite, Martin Guptill, Tim Southee, Ben Cutting, Yusuf Pathan are the top ones in the list. Although all these players have shown their finest game skills in past IPL matches, this year wasn’t lucky for them.
The Final Word On The 2020 IPL Event
Without any doubts, the IPL 2020 auctioneer has been a wheel of fortune that’s full of twists, turns, shocks, and surprises. Almost every IPL franchise had already made their minds and they have squads established. What they did was only fine-tuning their roasters by adding a couple of gems.
A whole lot of bargains happened and after intense as well as accelerated rounds of the auctioneer the franchise owners have come up with potential teams now on whom the eyes of every IPL lover have been set. Like every other fan of the Indian Premier League, we have also kept our fingers crossed and look forward to witnessing an action-packed and enthralling series full of drama and quality cricket.
