IPL 2020 Auction: List of confirmed players and teams for this year's tournament
Pat Cummins became the most expensive overseas purchase in Indian Premier League (IPL) history as the Kolkata Knight Riders spent more than £1.6 million on the Australian fast bowler in the 2020 IPL Auction.
England limited overs captain Eoin Morgan was also bought by the Knight Riders, while there was also a big deal for all-rounder Sam Curran, who was bought by the Chennai Super Kings.
Australian superstar Glenn Maxwell, seam-bowling all-rounder Chris Morris of South Africa and West Indian left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell were three of the other marquee purchases as a number of high-profile names went under the hammer at the showpiece event in Kolkata.
Morgan will be joined at the Knight Riders by budding star Tom Banton, with the Somerset opening batsman set to get a first taste of T20 cricket’s premier franchise competition in 2020 after receiving a £110k deal.
Chris Jordan, Tom Curran, Chris Woakes and Jason Roy were also purchased in the auction, taking the English contingent in next year’s competition to 13. Harry Gurney, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler were all retained by their teams before the auction.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the 2020 IPL auction.
The eight IPL teams have spent the last few months scouting, scouring and assessing, looking for signings both blockbuster and bargain as they look to complete their squads for another tilt at short-format, franchise cricket's most prestigious crown.
The action at the auction is already well underway, so let's get to all the big news from Kolkata so far...
The first group to go under auction are the capped batsman, some of the biggest willow-wielding names in the cricketing world.
And the headline story of the morning thus far is Eoin Morgan, who is back in the IPL after missing out on a deal last year, snapped up by good mate Brendon McCullum and the Kolkata Knight Riders for a cool 5.2 crore, or just over £500,000. Nice work if you can get it, and England's white-ball captain will likely lead KKR into the 2020 season.
But Morgan is not the only World Cup winner to pick up an early deal. Jason Roy has a spotty IPL record, but the explosive opening batsman has piqued the interest of the Delhi Capitals, hoping to add a couple of overseas star to their strong Indian core, and tempted by his 1.5 crore base price. No other bids, and Roy is off to the capital...
Robin Uthappa, seasoned campaigner and solid top-order option of much experience, has also been sold early on for 300 lakh, but neither Hanuma Vihari nor Cheteshwar Pujara received a bid at their 50 lakh base price. Two Indian Test stars go unsold...
It is likely to be a mammoth auction for a number of Australian superstars, and Aaron Finch was first to go under the hammer, cashing in at 4.4 crore, and sold to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kohli, Finch, De Villiers - that'll do.
Crikey! Glenn Maxwell follows Finch out of the lot list as we begin the second set of players, and the Big Show triggers an almighty bidding war. He has been a favourite at Kings XI before, while Delhi are also interested, with Ricky Ponting something of a mentor to Maxwell.
Up they go trading bigger and bigger bids, and finally the auctioneer's hammer comes down at...
10.75 crore! $1.51 million! Kings XI Punjab have him, and that's the first million dollar baby of the auction. Maxwell is in the money.
Through the all rounders we go, and a deal for Chris Woakes, plucked for 1.5 crore by busy boys the Delhi Capitals. Ponting picked Woakes' name out ahead of the auction as a potential buy for a team, and he's picked him up to add seam-bowling class and useful lower-order hitting.
No bids for veteran Yusuf Pathan, nor Colin De Grandhomme after a disappointing time with RCB.
Right - Pat Cummins has listed himself as an allrounder, but he's the premier fast bowler in the auction, and this could get a little bit spicy.
RCB open up, and Delhi swiftly join in. Up and up the price goes, past the $1 million mark, and well beyond Maxwell's massive pricetag. Cummins is a hot property for two teams keen for an overseas marquee fast bowler...
Sam Curran is next player up for grabs. A big winner last year, and after some early difficulties he settled in with Kings XI. He could go for decent money again.
Delhi fancy Curran too, but they pull out as the bidding goes up and eventually Chennai Super Kings snare Sam Curran at 5.5 crore. Interesting. We'll see how MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming use him. Curran had a couple of goes at the top of the order last year to some success.
These all-rounders are hot properties. South Africa's Chris Morris has done some extraordinary things in the competition in the past, and despite a couple of below par years recently remains somewhat unique with his excellent power hitting and skills with the ball at the death.
A sighting of the Rajasthan Royals, who begin the bidding, and soon the usual suspects Kings XI and the Royal Challengers Bangalore jump in. Up to 5 crore...
Stuart Binny, the experienced dibbly-dobbler who is handy with the bat, doesn't find any takers. The sort of player who might get picked up as an injury replacement, but in rather exalted company in this group, and there's no interest.
So Pat Cummins becomes the most expensive overseas purchase in IPL history, surpassing the 14.5 crore the Rising Pune Supergiants paid for Ben Stokes in 2017.
£1.6 million for Cummins! He's missed the last two IPL seasons, but was very impressive in 2017, and is one of the world's best all-format fast bowlers. He's more than handy with the bat, too, and a solid fielder.
"His recent form has been tremendous. As a leadership group, Morgan will add a lot of strength to what we already have," Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Abhishek Nayar says of his side's business so far.
And on Cummins: "For a player of his calibre, brings a lot with the ball and bat as well."
£1.6 million: Pat Cummins, Kolkata Knight Riders.
£1.15 million: Glenn Maxwell, Kings XI Punjab
£1.1 million: Chris Morris, Royal Challengers Bangalore
£910k: Sheldon Cottrell, Kings XI Punjab
£855k: Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mumbai Indians
Where England stars will play in the IPL in 2020
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Moeen Ali
Kings XI Punjab: Chris Jordan
Delhi Capitals: Jason Roy, Chris Woakes
Chennai Super Kings: Sam Curran
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Jonny Bairstow
Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, Harry Gurney
Mumbai Indians:
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran
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