We are done with the mini-auction for this year’s Indian Premier League. A total of 1,114 players had registered themselves for this year’s auction. Out of these, only 292 players were allowed to take part in the auction.
These 292 players were fighting for 61 slots that were available with the teams. After the end of the auction, 57 slots out of these 61 were filled. Out of these 57, 22 were overseas players, while 35 were Indian players.
Overall, teams spent 145.3 crores to acquire these 57 players. Although the number of Indian players sold in the auctions was more than the overseas players, the percentage of money spent on Indian players was much less than foreign players.
27.74% of the total amount was spent on Indian players. 72.26% was spent on foreign players. Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Chennai Super Kings were the teams that spent more money to acquire Indian players than overseas players.
Royal Challengers Bangalore spent the least (2.9%) to acquire Indian players. They purchased 5 Indian players. All of these players were purchased at their base price.
Punjab Kings (fka Kings XI Punjab) spent the most amount of money from their purse in this auction. They spent 34.4 crores to purchase 9 players in this auction. They were followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore. They spent 34.05 crores to purchase 8 players.
We are looking at the stars of this auction. These are the players which were purchased for the maximum amount.
1. Chris Morris (Rajasthan Royals – 16.25 crores)
Last year he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore. They had spent 10 crores that time to have him. He played 9 matches for the franchise in the 2020 edition. He picked 11 wickets at an economy of 6.63 for RCB.
RCB released him this year. The idea behind this move was to have him for less amount this year.
Mumbai Indians opened the bidding for Morris. Royal Challengers Bangalore followed them. Both of them had a war till the 10 crores mark.
Rajasthan Royals joined the party after RCB’s departure. Mumbai Indians exited the show after the bidding reached 13.25 crores. Punjab Kings replaced them. Both Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals had an immense battle to get the South African all-rounder.
Rajasthan Royals won the fight and purchased him for 16.25 crores. With this amount, Morris became the most expensive buy at the auction in the history of the Indian Premier League. He broke the record of Yuvraj Singh. Delhi Capitals (fka Delhi Daredevils) bought him for 16 crores in 2015.
Chris Morris was a part of Rajasthan Royals in the 2015 edition of the league. He will be a great addition to the team which already has all-rounders like Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.
2. Kyle Jamieson (Royal Challengers Bangalore – 15 crores)
This 6 ft 8 in fast-bowler from New Zealand was purchased by Royal Challengers Bangalore for 15 crores.
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals fought initially to have him in their teams. Punjab Kings joined them after the 7.5 crores mark.
Delhi Capitals dropped from the bidding process after the price was raised to 8.75 crores.
RCB managed to get him for 15 crores in the end. Both RCB and PBKS needed a quality fast bowler in their squad.
He has taken 54 in 38 T20 matches with an average of 20.59.
3. Glenn Maxwell (Royal Challengers Bangalore – 14.25 crores)
The all-rounder from Australia was one of the hottest free agents in this year’s auction. This was clear from the moment his name appeared in the auction. A total of four teams tried to grab him. RCB managed to include him in their squad in the end.
Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals opened the bidding for Maxwell. They were replaced by Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Both CSK and RCB were trying hard to have the last bid in their name. But RCB had more purse amount than CSK. This was the reason CSK left the bidding after it reached the 14 crores mark.
Glenn Maxwell has made 1505 runs in 82 matches in IPL. One-third of his total runs came in the 2014 season of the league. That was the only time that he was successful with the bat in IPL.
Apart from the 2014 and 2017 seasons, he has not scored more than 180 runs in a season. His last half-century in the IPL came in the 2016 season.
In the Big Bash League 2021, he managed to score 379 runs in 14 matches with a strike rate of 143.56.
4. Jhye Richardson (Punjab Kings – 14 crores)
The right-arm fast-bowler was purchased by Punjab Kings for 14 crores from his base price of 1.5 crores.
RCB and DC opened the bidding for this fast bowler. They were joined by PBKS after the bidding reached the 9.25 crores mark. DC chased him till 11.25 crores.
After that amount, it was all between PBKS and RCB. PBKS managed to snatch him from RCB after they made a bid of 14 crores.
Richardson had a good BBL this year. He was the leading wicket-taker in the league. He took 29 wickets from the 17 matches that he played with an impressive average of 16.31.
5. Krishnappa Gowtham (Chennai Super Kings – 9.25 crores)
He is the only Indian player on this list. He was picked by CSK for 9.25 crores from his base price of 20 lakhs.
The bidding war was started by Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad. KKR removed themselves from the bidding process after the 7.5 crores mark.
CSK then joined SRH from that point. CSK managed to get hold of Gowtham in the end.
After releasing Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh, CSK needed an off-break bowler.
They have managed to get Gowtham along with Moeen Ali. Both of them for sure will be able to cater to the needs of CSK.
Gowtham was picked by MI in the 2017 auction for 2 crores. He was then picked by RR for 6.2 crores in 2018. He took 11 wickets with an economy of 7.8 that year.
He is also one of the five net bowlers selected for the ongoing test series between India and England.
Your article has increased my excitement for IPL more🤩
Thank you for reading the article. 🙂