Cummins, Maxwell headline big IPL pay day

Kolkata, December 19

Australian cricketers hit pay dirt at the IPL players’ auction with pacer Pat Cummins becoming the most expensive foreign buy ever in the league by fetching Rs 15.50 crore from two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders here today.

All-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who was not considered for the upcoming ODI series against India in January, returned to Kings XI Punjab with a price tag of Rs 10.75 crore after an intense bidding war with Delhi Capitals. KXIP went into the auction with the biggest available purse of Rs 42.70 crore.

The 31-year-old Maxwell has been on his way back to cricket after taking a sudden break to deal with mental health issues earlier this year.

Nathan Coulter-Nile also enjoyed a million dollar payday at the auction as Mumbai Indians shelled out Rs 8 crore for the pacer.

Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch went for Rs 4.40 crore to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Finch, who had opted out of the 2019 IPL, also attracted a bid from KKR. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 4.8 crore, while pacer Kane Richardson will go home richer by Rs 4 crore after being bought by RCB.

Australia’s big-hitting all-rounder Chris Lynn, who was released by KKR ahead of the auction, was bought for his base price of Rs 2 crore by defending champions Mumbai Indians, whose opening bid became the winning bid. Similar was the case of seamer Josh Hazlewood, who went for his steep base price of Rs 2 crore to Chennai Super Kings.

A bidding war for the 26-year-old Cummins was on expected lines as he has been in top form with the ball and at times has also proved his worth with the bat.

“Can’t wait,” tweeted Cummins after KKR head coach Brendon McCullum posted a welcome message for him on the micro-blogging site.

Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore were engaged in an intense bidding war for the Australian before KKR joined the battle at Rs 15 crore and eventually outbid the two franchises. Cummins has taken 32 wickets in 25 IPL matches so far with an economy of just over 6.

He is also the No. 1 bowler in ICC Test rankings and has 92 wickets in 77 career T20 matches at an economy of little above 7.

With the price he fetched, Cummins broke the record for the most expensive foreign buy held by Ben Stokes. England all-rounder Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiant for Rs 14.5 crore in the 2017 auction. It also marks Cummins’ return to KKR. The pacer has also played for Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals.

Another big buy at the auction was South African Chris Morris, who was sold for Rs 10 crore to Royal Challengers Bangalore. West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell, with a base price of Rs 50 lakh, fetched a winning bid of Rs 8.50 crore from Kings XI Punjab.

Another Caribbean star, Shimron Hetmyer, was expectedly a sought-after entity for his big-hitting abilities and went to Delhi Capitals for Rs 7.75 crore. The left-hander had a base price of Rs 50 lakh and recently made his case with a match-winning hundred against India in the first ODI in Chennai.

Veteran Indian spinner Piyush Chawla remained a hit with the franchises and was bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 6.75 crore. He was the highest paid India at this auction.

KKR went for England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, paying Rs 5.25 crore for the stylish southpaw.

The seasoned Robin Uthappa was bagged by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 3 crore. Uthappa had gone into the auction with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore, the highest for an Indian.

India pacer Jaydev Unadkat returned to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 3 crore, a massive pay cut from the last two editions when RR bought him for Rs 11.5 crore (2018) and Rs 8.5 crore (2019). India U-19 youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal went to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 2.4 crore.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihara went unsold. South African pace great Dale Steyn finally had a face-saving bid of Rs 2 crore from the RCB during the last round.

While 14-year-old youngest auction entrant Noor Ahmed of Afghanistan didn’t have any takers, the oldest Praveen Tambe at 48, got a base price bid of Rs 20 lakh from the Kolkata Knight Riders.