Cummins backs his all-rounders to play a key role in India series
Cummins is currently early in a two-month stretch without bowling having been left out of the limited-overs tour of the UK.
While big names like Colin de Grandhomme and Shai Hope remained unsold, players like Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins went home with plenty from the auction.
Of the 338 players who went under the hammers on Thursday, only 61 players found owners in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 auction held in Kolkata. While big names like Colin de Grandhomme, Shai Hope and Colin Munro remained unsold, players like Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins went home with plenty.
Australian speedster Cummins emerged as the costliest player in this year’s auction with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) buying him at a whopping price of INR 15.5 crore. The 26-year-old was always supposed to be in high demands but the bidding war that the franchises engaged in for him went beyond expectations.
KKR was the last entrant in the battle fought between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals and roped their former employee in the slog overs with the record bid to make Cummins the most expensive foreign player in the history of IPL.
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Swashbuckling Australian all-rounder Maxwell also seemed to be in high demand. Given his all-round skills with his hard-hitting ability, Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) looked determined to add his firepower in the middle order.
But with the bid going over Rs 10 crore, Delhi lost interest and the team from Punjab, headed by Anil Kumble, bought the 32-year-old at a price of INR 10.75 crore.
South African all-rounder Chris Morris was another big buy in the auction as RCB grabbed him at INR 10 crore. At a base price of Rs 1.5 crore, he saw an intense bidding battle between fo himself between KXIP, RCB and Mumbai Indians.
However, the biggest surprise of the night was pulled by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) when they acquired the service of Piyush Chawla at a hefty amount of INR 6.75 crore. Mumbai and KXIP were initially engaged in the bidding war for Chawla before CSK came in to make him the richest Indian player in the auction.
Uncapped Indian player Yashasvi Jaiswal was another talking point of the auction night. One of the most sought-after players in the young circuit, the 17-year-old went to Rajasthan Royals at INR 2.4 crore. With a base price of Rs 20 lakhs, franchises like Mumbai Indians, KXIP and KKR had also shown their interest for him.
48-year-old Pravin Tambe has also found his space in the headlines after KKR surprisingly bought him for his base price of Rs 20 lakhs. The former Rajasthan Royals player is now officially the oldest player in IPL history.
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