Gautam Gambhir calls KXIP 'Desperate' for going after Sheldon Cottrell in IPL Auction 2020

West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell was bought by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) for a whopping amount of ₹8.5 crore at the Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction on Thursday in Kolkata. With the left-arm pacer being in sensational form recently, his selection has been lauded by many cricket fans around the world. However, former India opener-turned-pundit Gautam Gambhir was not left impressed.

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KXIP roped in Cottrell out of desperation: Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir made a huge statement to the IPL's official broadcaster, stating that KXIP’s move to rope in Cottrell was more out of desperation after the franchise missed out on their bids of South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris and Australia pacer Pat Cummins. Morris was eventually sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs. 10 crore while Cummins proved to be the highest paid player this year at Rs. 15.5 crore with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Gambhir added that KXIP coach Anil Kumble did not have many options to choose from, because of those two setbacks. According to the veteran southpaw, Cottrell is not accurate enough to succeed in T20 cricket, despite clocking in excess of 145 kmph when it comes to speed on a pretty consistent basis.

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Cottrell, whose base price was ₹50 lakh, went for 17 times his base price. Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) also went after Cottrell, but KXIP emerged victorious. The West Indian fast bowler came into the limelight after his stellar show for Antigua Hawksbills against Barbados Tridents in the 2013 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) where he turned heads by claiming the wickets of Dwayne Smith and Shakib Al Hasan. He became the second most expensive bowler after Pat Cummins in Thursday's auction. In T20Is, the left-armer has bagged 30 wickets in 22 games at a strike-rate of 15.2 and an economy rate of 8.09.

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Sheldon Cottrell has a message for KXIP fans

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