ICC No 1 T20 batsman Dawid Malan fails to storm IPL Auction, goes to Punjab for base price

Despite topping the ICC T20 Batting rankings, England's opener Dawid Malan failed to gather interests from franchises in the ongoing IPL 2021 Auction. The English batsman has been acquired by Punjab Kings at his base price of Rs 1.5 crores only. While Malan who stands tall in the ICC Test rankings failed to gather interest, Glenn Maxwell - who had a dismal IPL performance in 2020 - attracted a fierce bidding war between RCB and CSK, before the former acquired the Australian all-rounder. 

Here's how netizens reacted to Malan's selling: 

A total of 164 Indian players, 125 overseas stars and three cricketers from Associate Nations will be subjected to selection at the IPL 2021 auction. On February 5, the BCCI announced that as many as 1,097 players originally registered their names. However, the entire list was later shortlisted and brought down to 292 players by the Indian board.

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Morris becomes most expensive IPL buy

After being released by RCB, South African all-rounder Chris Morris attracted franchises instantly as the teams locked horns over Morris. RCB, Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings and Mumbai all fought hard to acquire the veteran all-rounder. Ultimately, Rajasthan Royals won the war as they bought Morris for a staggering amount of Rs 16.25 crores smashing all previous records. Consequently, Morris became the most expensive buy in the history of IPL. 

Australian star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell generated much interest among franchises at the Indian Premier League 2021 (IPL 2021) auction. In an intense bidding war between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the T20 dynamite joined the latter for a staggering amount. Interestingly, Maxwell himself wished for joining the RCB camp to play alongside his “idol” AB de Villiers.

Australian batting mainstay Steve Smith was bought by the Delhi Capitals for ₹2.2 crore. Ahead of the IPL 2021 auction, Smith had created a lot of buzz because of his reputation, however, the Australian failed to attract attention from the franchises as he was sold for the modest price against all expectations. It was the Royal Challengers Bangalore that started the bidding for Smith at his base price of ₹2 crore with none of the other franchises showing interest in the dynamic batsman. However, Delhi Capitals jumped in at the last moment and put in their only bid to steal Smith.