The 2019 IPL auction took place in Kolkata for the first time on December 19. Hundreds of international and domestic players had their fingers crossed, hoping IPL franchises would pick them for good money.
Soon enough, the franchises started a bidding war to secure the best talent. Most of the top international players and a number of young Indian players took home very good paydays.
Australians Make Big Money In IPL Auction
Australian players are without a doubt the most sought after international players in the IPL. The national team’s vice-captain Patrick Cummins received the most princely sum this time around.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) went after Cummins—base price 2 crores—and paid a whopping 15.5 crores to avail his services. That makes the 26-year-old the highest priced player in IPL history, surpassing Ben Stokes.
Nathan Coulter-Nile, who had a base price of 1 crore, was sold for 8 crores to Mumbai Indians (MI).
Kane Richardson (base price: 1.5 crores) hasn’t played a lot of international cricket for Australia in recent times. But a number of IPL franchises thought he would make a great addition to their squad. He finally went to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for 4 crores.
Big Moolah For Big Show
There was some talk going around that franchises might take a pass on Glenn Maxwell who took a break from international cricket due to mental health issues. However, the IPL franchises were eager to grab the Big Show (base price 2 crores). Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) paid 10.75 crores to secure his services.
Aaron Finch had a base price of 1 crore but had a great payout because a number of IPL franchise were eager in securing the services of the hard hitting opener. In the end, RCB paid out 4.4 crores and brought him on board.
Australian wicket-keeper batsmen Alex Carey has shown immense talent in the few times that he has got to play for his country. He had a base price of just 50 lakhs and the IPL franchises went all out to sign him. Eventually, Delhi Capitals (DC) shelled out 2.4 crores and signed Carey.
Marcus Stoinis had a slump in form in 2019 but that did not hurt his IPL prospects. With a base price of 1 crore, DC bought him for 4.8 crores.
Some Aussies were not signed in the auction. It is hard to pinpoint the exact reason for each player. It was a combination of having too high a base price and also because the franchises did not think they would be a great addition to their squad. Some of the Aussies that missed out include Ben Cutting, Adam Zampa, Sean Abott and James Pattinson.
Other Internationals Enjoy Success
A number of other international players also had a good day at the IPL auction.
England captain Eoin Morgan had a base price of 1.5 crores but managed to go for 5.25 crores to KKR. DC enjoyed bargain picks, collecting Jason Roy and Chris Woakes at their base price (1.5 crores each).Sam Curran, base price of 1 core, went to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for 5.5 crores.
Chris Morris who had a base price of 1.5 crores was picked up for 10 crores by RCB and West Indian Sheldon Cottrell who had a base price of 50 lakh was sold to KXIP for 8.5 crores.
