Game over, man. Every IPL team has between 23 and 27 players in its squad, and between 7 and 9 internationals. Some good players have been ignored - Imran Tahir most notably - and some middling ones have scored paydays.
The big story of the day though is the fact that three Associate cricketers have been picked in the competition - two from Afghanistan and one from the UAE. Momentum continues in the world of cricket outside the limelight. And the other big story is that of a few England players: Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, and Tymal Mills. Stokes may not have fond memories of T20s in India, but as now the highest-paid import in the IPL, he will have a couple of million reasons to put those aside.
Grab the initial report below, and doubtless our man Ali Martin will be working on more extensive coverage over the next couple of days. Right, I’m off to make some toast, which I will award slice by slice slice to the highest butterer. Try not to be sad about your next pay packet.
The last rites. Gujarat fill up their list with Akshdeep Nath, the Uttar Pradesh batsman. Pune scrape up enough coins to bag Manoj Tiwary, since no one else is interested. Kolkata get Darren Bravo, both those last two at US$75,000. Former Kiwi captain Stephen Fleming does his countryman a solid, authorising a bid for fast bowler Lockie Ferguson at the same price. Kolkata grab a final cheapie, with right-arm seamer Sayan Ghosh going for roughly what his team owners would spend on a business lunch, and that. Is. That.
It’s nearly done. Now the teams can request up to three players to be offered again. Punjab have filled all of ther 27 player spots, while Delhi and Gujarat - the late movers - have only one spot left on theirs. Both those teams plus Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad have used up all nine of their overseas player spots. The Pune crowd is out of cash. So not many options remain.
Another Associate story. Fans of cricket’s emerging nations will be delighted. Chirag Suri, a young batsman from the United Arab Emirates, has been picked up by Gujarat Lions. He’s so new that he hasn’t even played for the UAE yet, but he has been noticed by scouts after first drawing attention in some practice games when part of the IPL was played in the Emirates a couple of years ago. He said in interviews during the past week that an IPL side had asked him to register for the auction. That must have been Gujarat, and they’ve done their part by signing him up. Here’s a story to watch - it would be remarkable if he could make something of the opportunity and force his way into the playing XI.
Dan Christian once went for nearly a million bucks. Today he’ll have to settle for $150,000. Still not bad work if you can get it. Pune are the buyers. Darren Sammy captained a World T20 win in India less than a year ago, but can only get US$45,000 from Kings XI Punjab. Rovman Powell goes to Kolkata, Munaf Patel to Gujarat.
Basement prices of $15,000 are handed over for local players Rinku Singh (Punjab), Shashank Singh (Delhi), Milind Tandon (Pune), Kulwant Khejroliya (Mumbai), Shubham Agrawal and Shelley Shaurya (Gujarat), R Sanjay Yadav and Ishank Jaggi (Kolkata), Prantham Singh (Gujarat again), and Rahul Tripathi (Pune again).
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The importance of timing. This is an IPL classic - the player who makes the right impression just before the auction. No one would have paid the slightest attention to Asela Gunarathna a week ago, but the formerly low-profile Sri Lankan has just produced twin 50s at terrific speed to win a series in Australia. He’s a handy bowler as well. Mumbai get him for their 26th spot, and spend US$45,000 doing it.
To fill in the post-lunch action: plenty of second-chance sales for some of the players who didn’t go the first time around. Now that teams have a clearer idea of how much money they have, who’s available, and which of their rivals are out of the running, they’re happier to top up their lists.
Martin Guptill to Punjab. Jason Roy to Gujarat. Saurabh Tiwary back to Mumbai, where he started. Chris Jordan to Hyderabad. Nathan Coulter-Nile with a bonus - a little bidding war means he’ll get over half a million US dollars to play for Kolkata.
Praveen Dubey to Bangalore and Navdeep Saini to Delhi at the minimum price. Hyderabad get Ben Laughlin and Bangalore get Billy Stanlake, for US$45,000 apiece.
The young seamer Mohammed Siraj gets a lucky break, with bidding forcing his price up to nearly $400,000 US dollars. He’ll stay at home for his local side Hyderabad.
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That's lunch
Yes, even in cricket auctions we have a lunch break. And a good place to leave this coverage too, though there could be a few late sales as the accelerated auction comes late in the piece. The main bidding is done though, with some wins especially for Englishmen in this year’s auction. Ben Stokes and Tymal Mills are now millionaires, if they weren’t already. To recap:
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Mills is Virat Kohli’s big recruit, along with Pawan Negi and Aniket Choudhary.
Rising Pune Supergiants
Bought Ben Stokes for all the king’s gold, with Steve ‘Sniffer’ Smith to captain this year in place of MS Dhoni. Bank broken, they’re now out of the show.
Delhi Daredevils
Busy on the DD-floor, marking up captain Zaheer Khan’s dance card with Patrick Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Angelo Mathews, Corey Anderson, M Ashwin, Aditya Tare and Ankit Bawne.
Kings XI Punjab
Murali Vijay’s side got England skipper Eoin Morgan, along with Matt Henry, Varun Aaron, Rahul Tewatia, and T Natarajan.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The shiny gold team buffed up with Trent Boult, Chris Woakes and Rishi Dhawan.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The new Afghan side, with Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, as well as Tanmay Agarwal, Pravin Tambe, and Eklavya Dwivedi.
Mumbai Indians
Got their old stager Mitchell Johnson back for another go at the big time, along with Karn Sharma, K Gowtham, and young Caribbean keeper Nicholas Pooran.
Gujarat Lions
Quiet, perhaps still waiting to pounce, Gujarat have added local players Manpreet Gony, Nathu Singh, Basil Thampi, and Tejas Baroka.
Australia’s lower tier of bowlers is being passed over. Billy Stanlake Ben Laughlin, Fawad Ahmed, Michael Beer. Nathan Lyon too, it looks like he didn’t really want to play, with a base bid the same as Haddin’s unrealistic one. Perhaps a case of saying, “Might as well give it a shot,” while being quite happy to give it a miss. Can’t imagine Australian Test players wanting to stay on after their upcoming tour finishes.
Indian bowlers are more the flavour of this round: Jayden Unadkat to Pune with the last few shekels they have after the Stokes splurge; Manpreet Gony to Gujarat; the speedster Varun Aaron to Punjab for US$420,000. Punjab also grab Matt Henry, the NZ quick, for a budget US$75,000.
No love for Brad Haddin. But why? The most lovable man in world cricket. Always a cheeky smile on his face, a glint in his eye, a kind word for competitors and teammates alike. Jolliness personified. He has set his base price at US$225,000, and there are probably other slogging wicketkeepers around the world for less. In fact no one wants any of this group of overseas keepers: Dickwella, Perera, Bijoy, Dowrich, NZ-via-SA’s Glenn Phillips.
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Passed over are Parveez Rasool, the Indian spinning all-rounder who made such a name at Jammu & Kashmir; the giant West Indies captain Jason ‘Stubby’ Holder; the Sri Lankan randomising machine Thisara Perera; and the South African spelling test Farhaan Behardien; and the delicious ice-cream bar David Wiese. Kolkata get one more body in the form of Indian all-rounder Rishi Dhawan for a touch over 80 grand.
Chris Woakes goes for $US630,000. It’s a very English year at the auction this time, compared to past years where the British Isles have been more an absence than a presence in the world’s most-watched cricket league. Kolkata Knight Riders currently have the smallest squad in the IPL, but they hold off Hyderabad to swell it by one. Then Mumbai - Mumbai again, really? - squeeze out Gujarat to grab Karn Sharma, the leg-spinning all-rounder who played a Test at Adelaide against Australia in 2014. Mumbai and Delhi each have 24 of 27 possible players on their list now.
No love for Michael Klinger. He finally broke through to play his first couple of games for Australia this week, but that breakthrough doesn’t extend to the fields of gold in India. In fact no one wants any batsmen right now. All the teams seem to be playing a cautious waiting game. No Cheteshwar Pujara, Manoj Tiwary, Marlon Samuels, Abhinav Mukund, Subramaniam Badrinath, Evin Lewis. We’re back onto another batch of all-rounders.
Well, that’s lovely. It’s not just Brad Hogg. Pravin Tambe, the legspinner who broke through to elite cricket aged 41, gets picked up by Hyderabad for the base price of US$15,000. He’s now aged 45, and smiling fit to burst in every photo. The far younger Australian leggie Mitchell Swepson is not picked up.
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Make that Greenbackistan. This is remarkable. IPL teams are generally reluctant to buy foreign spinners - remember Tahir going unsold earlier today. But they’ve gone crazy for Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, the teenage leg-spinner with an average and an econ rate to die for. Mumbai Indians want him; they want everyone. Sunrisers Hyderabad want him too. It goes back. It goes forth. Hyderabad finally win... at US$600,000! Who saw that coming? He’ll join his national teammate Nabi at Hyderabad, and the chances of an Afghan player actually getting some game time in the IPL just doubled.
Gujaration! She loves me again. I’m down on the floor and I’m laughing. Or Nathu Singh is, the Rajasthan right-armer, as he nets $US75,000 after Gujarat finally, finally seal a deal. With that unfamilair taste fresh in their mouths, the Gujarate team double down on Basil Thampy, a pretty brisk young quick from Kerala, for around US$127,000. And triple down with the spinner Tejas Singh Baroka. In the interim, the legspinner M Ashwin (no relation to R) goes to Delhi for US$150,000.
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The Lions sleep tonight. Still Gujarat hasn’t bought a player, after bidding back and forth against Bangalore for Aniket Choudhary, the left-arm seamer. He goes for 300,000 American smackers, which is about 390,000 Australian dollarydoos.
Thangarasu Natarajan is another left-arm seamer, and teams see something in him despite his lack of cricket. Only played a couple of T20s and a couple of FC games, but Kings XI Punjab keep on adding cash to the pile as three other competitors come and go. In the end they get him for US$450,000. Get ready for an Indecent Proposal scene.
No bid on a triple centurion? Oh come on, where’s your sense of theatre? Mohit Ahlawat smashed 300 in a local T20 game a couple of weeks ago, and was suddenly thrown into this auction. Surely it would have been worth signing him just for the PR? No contract either for Mohammad Shazhad, the ultra-aggressive Afghan opening batsman.
To clarify, the Aghan players are included in the ‘uncapped’ section of the auction with Indian players, presumably because they haven’t played for a top-10 international team. This despite the players in this auction having vast international experience including World Cups in two formats. Don’t argue with me, take it up with the BCCI.
Pune use the last of their cash to try to get Aditya Tare, an uncapped player but one with high pedigree nonetheless, who has played plenty of IPL for Mumbai and who also captains Mumbai’s Ranji side. Powerful batsman and a wicketkeeper to boot, he’s picked up by Delhi for only 25 lakh, or around US$37,000. Better price for Eklavya Dwivedi though, who cleans up a bit over US$110,000 from Hyderabad.
Local boy made good. Krishnappa Gowtham has impressed with his all-round ability for Karnataka of late, and he does far , far better than his base price. The previous couple of players sold have to look on in envy as Mumbai gets involved yet again, apparently determined to win the competition by buying every available player. Kolkata and Hyderabad drop out, and Mumbai gets Gowtham for $US300,000. Punjab then get involved with $US37,000 for all-rounder Rahul Tewatia.
Afghanistan! At first it’s a sad day for fans of the underdog, with Afghanistan’s captain Asghar Stanikzai missing out. But then the off-spinning all-rounder Mohammad Nabi becomes the first Afghan player to join the IPL. Sunrisers Hyderabad are the team responsible. And a very good buy, with a career batting strike rate above 130, along with a bowling average of 20 and an economy rate of 6.8. A good package for $US45,000.
The next tier. We’re onto the uncapped players now, as we churn through the less famous names who may yet by snapped up as teams look for good deals to fill out their squads. Hyderabad finally get their first player of the day, recruiting the young local batsman Tanmay Agarwal, who rose to prominence in unfortunate fashion after he was hit in the head while fielding in close during a Ranji Trophy match last November. Ankit Bawne joins the bloated Delhi squad. Both make the minimum payment of $US15,000. A raft of other local players are passed over.
Whose round is it anyway? Some of the passed up players can be come back to at the end, if teams have a bit of cash left in the purse. Hyderabad and Gujarat haven’t bought a player yet, Bangalore and Pune have spent most of their money on a single buy. Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Punjab still have a jingle of rupees to throw at the lunch lady. But Mumbai are now five players from the theoretical squad maximum of 27, so will likely cool their jets, while Delhi have 21 players including nine from overseas, which is the maximum on that count.
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Spinners are being passed up. Indian and overseas. Some good names: Ish Sodhi from NZ, then the parade of left-armers in Sri Lanka’s wristie Lakshan Sandakan, Australia’s Brad Hogg, and India’s ortho Pragyan Ohja. Most surprisingly, Imran Tahir is left alone, one of the most reliable short-form spinners in the world.
The schaden will freude tonight. You would have thought that the need for quality fast bowlers would have almost every option being jumped at. But a couple are passed by. I’m willing to bet there are more than a few snarky South African fans who’ll be happy to see that Kyle Abbott won’t add an IPL contract to his Kolpak deal in country cricket. Unfairly so, perhaps, for a player who often struggled to be given a run in the national SA side. And fans of the tragicomedy that is Ishant Sharma’s career will find a chuckle in him being passed over. His T20 numbers aren’t inspiring, mind you, and he set a fairly high reserve of $US300,000.
Australian quicks get grabbed. First is Patrick Cummins, who showed his value for Sydney Thunder this past BBL when he can stay injury free. Delhi and Hyderabad haggle, but the Daredevils win out in the end for about $US650,000. Mitchell Johnson is at the opposite end of his career, but showed how good he can still be in the BBL-winning Perth side this last season, especially in the two finals matches he just about won single-handed. Mumbai get him in a simple transaction for his high base price of US$300,000.
Tymal Millionaires! Bet you’ll be seeing some version of that in about a thousand headlines. Royal Challengers Bangalore finally nab him at 12 crore rupees, which is about US$1.8million. Virat Kohli must have had some say in that purchase, after facing Mills for India in the recent series against England. Kohli will be Mills’ captain.
Bidding is going wild for Tymal Mills. The English left-arm speedster is available for the whole season, with no upcoming England duties to interfere. Bangalore are going to lose Mitchell Starc, so they’re going hard, and they’re up against Mumbai Indians despite Mumbai coming into this auction with the biggest squad already. Mumbai drops out but Kolkata is still bidding.
Pace pedigree gets picked up. No bids for Johnson Charles or Dinesh Chandimal to round out the wicketkeepers, nor for Nathan Coulter-Nile to start off the fast bowlers. But Kagiso Rabada was always going to be one of the hottest properties in this auction, and Delhi Daredevils pick him up for US$750,000. Then Kolkata Knight Riders swoop on Trent Boult for the same price.
Interesting one. Nicholas Pooran, a Trinidadian wicketkeeper, is old to Mumbai Indians. He’s only 21, he’s a T20 specialist and has only played a couple of first-class games. But he’s cheap, the base price of US$45,000, and Mumbai obviously want some backup for Parthiv Patel.
Personally I hope that Morgan ends up playing for every single IPL team. One more ticked off.
Welcome #EoinMorgan to the #Kxip family 👍 Happy to have you in the lions den. #IPLAuction
— Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 20, 2017
I always read B.R. Dunk as B. Drunk on scorecards, but there’ll be no celebratory champagne for the top runscorer of the last BBL. He is passed over in the auction as we restart after the break. So too is Jonny Bairstow, despite in 2016 scoring more Test runs in a calendar year than any wicketkeeper. West Indies batsman-keeper Andre Fletcher is not required by any IPL side either.
DD’s Death Overs run rate of 9.02 was the second worst among all teams last season. Mathews & Anderson will help that. #IPL #IPLAuction
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) February 20, 2017
Well, yes, and they’ll help with explosive middle order batting. But most importantly, they’ll do so for a combined price of $US450,000, whereas Pune got a single all-rounder in Stokes for 4.8 times that amount. I’m not sure that buy would survive a Moneyball analysis.
Ahoy sailors. Russell Jackson has just gone overboard, and it’s Geoff Lemon here trying to keep a steady hand on the tiller, climb aloft to rig a topsail, and any number of other nautical metaphors that I am entirely unqualified to make. I did once spend a week in a bunk knocked out by truly heroic doses of Stemetil while a ship wandered about south of Cape Horn, but that was the extent of my personal contribution to the voyage.
For now we’re having a break so that the Hammerman can have a breather, and perhaps foil some crimes. Or at least help someone hang a painting.
Sanity returns now, and appropriately enough, it’s a Kiwi who brings us down to earth in the form of Corey Anderson. He goes to Delhi for $150,000 but Sean Abbott fails to attract a bid. Pune for one barely have any money left. Stranger still: England’s Chris Jordan goes unsold too.
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Ben Stokes sells for $2.16 million to Pune!
The record price at an IPL auction before this was the 16 Crore paid for Yuvraj Singh, but Stokes goes close, eventually falling under the hammer for 14.5 Crore, or US$2.16 million. That distant rumble you might be hearing is the England all-rounder running a lap of his house with his underpants on his head. He’s rich!
Bidding for Ben Stokes is going mad!
Up now is England superstar Ben Stokes, who will possibly not be available to his prospective side after 1 May due to national commitments. He enters the fray at US$300,000 and soon that figure is tripled as Mumbai throw their cash around the room, or at least wave their paddle.
Delhi Daredevils counter, Mumbai come back at 9.5 Crore ($US1.4 million)! Holy smokes. I think he’ll be able to add a kitchen extension this year. Maybe a sun room too. Sunrisers extend it to 11 Crore. Stokes will be buying a Rolex for every team-mate at this rate. With Hyderabad taking it to 13 Crore, Pune push it past US$2 million, then Sunrisers have a bash too. This is utterly mad.
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Other unsold players so far: Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and Saurabh Tiwary. Pawan Negi, the Indian all-rounder, is the next under the hammer and attracting plenty of bids. Eventually he goes to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Us$150,000, while Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Matthews ends up at the Delhi Daredevils for US$300,000.
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Jason Roy and Alex Hales go unsold
The news is not as good for England batsman Jason Roy, whose base price of Rs 1 Crore (approximately US$150,000) is met with silence in the auction room, as is the name of Alex Hales. Surprising? A little, but most sides are well stocked for explosive batsmen.
Eoin Morgan sold to Kings XI Punjab!
The first player on the block goes for his base price of Rs 2 Crore, which is somewhere in the region of US$300,000. That is his fourth IPL franchise. Meanwhile, Kiwi opener Martin Guptill goes unsold.
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Just on the fast bowlers, former Indian opening batsman Aakash Chopra had this to say about the chances of Rabada and Mills. The issue in the case of both English and South African players is whether IPL franchises will be willing to risk losing them to international commitments over the course of the tournament.
Mitchell Starc's absence might just have raised Tymal Mills and Rabada's price by a few hundred thousand dollars 💵 #IPLAuction
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 19, 2017
Preamble
Hello all and welcome to the 2017 IPL player auction. Today 352 cricketers of varying abilities will be hoping to become instant millionaires, or at least share six weeks of bus trips with Chris Lynn. I’d pay to do that, to be honest.
Though we all hope for the free-spending madness of early seasons, the reality is that teams become more and more prudent with each passing year. The order of the day is value buys, though the odd superstar will attract handsome bidding today.
Under the hammer today: Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Ishant Sharma, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Roy, Kagiso Rabada, Irfan Pathan and Tymal Mills. The pacemen in particular tend to go for big bucks – and left-armers will be keenly sought this time – though each of the players listed above has a decent reserve on his head.
If you’d like to join in the fun, email me on russell.jackson@theguardian.com or tweet me @rustyjacko
Russell will be here shortly, which gives you enough time to read this great interview with “The Hammerman” – surprisingly not a Marvel superhero, rather a tweed-clad 59-year-old Briton charged with presiding over today’s proceedings in Bengaluru.
