An IPL auction without a record-breaking buy is much like a pizza without topping.
This time it was South African Chris Morris’ turn to break the all-time mark in the IPL for the highest successful bid.
Indeed, at the drama-filled IPL auction here on Thursday, where there were prolonged duels with franchises unwilling to let go of the player they had set their eyes on, Morris was bought by Rajasthan Royals for a record-setting ₹16.25 crore.
Fierce battle
After a fierce battle involving four franchises, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, the South African pace bowling all-rounder went to the Jaipur outfit.
There were other big buys. Royal Challengers Bangalore shelled out ₹15 crore for the young New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson, and ₹14.25 crore for the brutal but inconsistent Glenn Maxwell.
From Jamieson to Shahrukh Khan: Lesser-known players who struck big bids at 2021 IPL auction
In fact, Royal Challengers and Chennai Super Kings were locked in an intense duel for Maxwell — CSK was seeking an off-spinner with batting credentials — but the Bengaluru side had the final say.
CSK, eventually was successful in seeking the kind of player it wanted after it released Harbhajan Singh. The Chennai franchise withstood a spirited bid by Punjab Kings to land England off-spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali for ₹7 crore.
And as an insurance, CSK also purchased domestic off-spinning all-rounder K. Gowtham for ₹9.25 crore, the highest amount ever for an Indian uncapped player. Keeping in mind CSK’s conservative ways in the past, these were big money buys.
Among the happy news of the evening was old soldier Cheteshwar Pujara being bought by CSK for ₹50 lakh. For the first time since 2014, Pujara will be seen in an IPL.
Punjab Kings was the franchise with most money to spend at the start of the auction — over ₹50 crore — and it did splurge ₹14 crore on Australian fast bowler Jhye Richardson. Punjab also spent ₹8 crore — the highest paid to an uncapped overseas player — for speedy Aussie paceman Riley Meredith, whose base price was just ₹40 lakh.
Smart buy
Punjab also had a smart buy in batsman David Malan, who was a ‘steal’ at ₹1.50 crore.
Similarly, Delhi Capitals got a great deal when it got India fast bowler Umesh Yadav for just ₹1 crore.
Among the domestic players, Tamil Nadu’s Shahrukh Khan — his base price was just ₹20 lakh — grabbed attention when he was snapped up by Punjab Kings for ₹5.25 crore.
Another big-ticket domestic buy was Shivam Dube, who went to Rajasthan Royals for ₹4.40 crore.
Surprise pick
In a surprise pick for someone who was in his late 30s, Daniel Christian was pencilled in by Royal Challengers for ₹4.80 crore. Contrast this with giant Steve Smith, secured by Delhi Capitals for ₹2.20 crore.
England all-rounder Tom Curran went to Delhi Capitals for ₹5.25 crore, while another pace-bowling all-rounder, Aussie Moises Henriques, went to Punjab Kings for ₹4.20 crore. Paceman Arjun Tendulkar was signed by Mumbai Indians for his base price of ₹20 lakh.
Among the players who went unsold were big-hitters Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Evin Lewis, Aaron Finch and Alex Carey.
