Published 10:40 IST, August 31st 2020
IPL 2020: Pat Cummins and other most expensive overseas players each year
Here are instances over the years where IPL team owners went all guns blazing to attain the services of overseas players of their choice ahead of the IPL 2020.
The Indian Premier League is termed as 'cash-rich' league for a valid reason. Since its inception in 2008, the tournament has changed lots of aspects of the game. For instance, a new dimension was added with the introduction of auctions. With a limit of only 4 overseas players in the playing 11, the franchises have to be wise about the foreign players they want on their side. Here is a look at the instances over the years where the team owners went all guns blazing to attain the services of the player of their choice.
2008: Andrew Symonds
The former Australian all-rounder was picked up by the Deccan Chargers unit in the inaugural IPL auctions. Symonds was worth ₹5.4 crore for the first three seasons of the event. He was only second to MS Dhoni in the list of most expensive players overall in the 2008 auction.
2009: Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen
The former England captain earned an IPL contract of ₹7.35 crore (approximately) from the Chennai Super Kings in 2009. Controversy erupted in the later years when, the then IPL chairman Lalit Modi claimed that Flintoff's deal with CSK was rigged in favour of the franchise. However, the claim stands unproven till date. Flintoff's England teammate then, Kevin Pietersen was also sold at the same price to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), making them the joint-highest expensive players in the auction.
2010: Kieron Pollard and Shane Bond
Mumbai Indians signed Kieron Pollard during the IPL 2010 auction. However, Kolkata Knight Riders bought Shane Bond at the same price as Pollard, i.e. ₹3.4 crore and a result, both the players were declared as the joint-most expensive that year. While Pollard still continues to be a part of the franchise as a player, ironically Bond was made the bowling coach of the Mumbai Indians in the years to come.
2011 and 2012: Mahela Jayawardene
The former Sri Lanka captain surprised everyone as he earned a million-dollar contract from a new IPL team, Kochi Tuskers Kerala worth ₹6.8 crore ahead of the 2011 season. The stylish batsman was crowned as the captain for the side. He was then picked by the Delhi Capitals for $1.4 million (₹6.8 crore) in the following year after Kochi was banned from the league. Jayawardene now serves as the head coach for the Mumbai Indians.
2013: Glenn Maxwell
The Aussie power-hitter fetched the price of ₹5.3 crore (approx) in the 2013 auctions, as he was included in the Mumbai Indians' side. Despite the big-money contract, he did not get much of an opportunity to prove his worth. He then shifted base to Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals in later years.
2014: Kevin Pietersen
The former England captain was once again the league's most expensive overseas player as he raked in ₹9 crores as he was picked up by Delhi Daredevils in the 2014 auction. Shelling this much amount for Pietersen was not surprising for the fans due to his dynamic batting, especially in the T20 format.
2015: Angelo Mathews
Delhi Capitals appear once again in the list as they went all out to get the services of Sri-Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews in the 2015 auctions for a ₹7.5 crore contract. However. the Lankan could not live up to his price and was termed as an under-performer for that season.
2016: Shane Watson
Fans were overjoyed when RCB included Australian all-rounder Shane Watson in their side in 2016. They had to shell a massive ₹9.5 crore to win the bidding war. Shane Watson has a decent season with RCB and he moved to Chennai Super Kings in the later years.
2017 & 2018: Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes caught the eye of cricket fans in the year 2017 when England finally allowed more of their players to play in the IPL. As a result, the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant went all guns blazing to have him on their side. They had to shell out a record ₹14.5 crore for the England all-rounder.
Ben Stokes continued to be one of the favourites in the subsequent auctions as well, where the Rajasthan Royals side scalped him for ₹12.5 crores. Ben Stokes is set to represent the franchise in IPL 2020.
2019: Sam Curran
Another English cricketer in the list was a hot favourite at the auction. The Kings XI Punjab side bought the all-rounder for ₹7.2 crore, thereby making him the most expensive overseas player of the season. Curran is expected to represent CSK at the auction.
2020: Pat Cummins
The Australian fast bowler shattered all the records as he was picked up by two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the auctions for IPL 2020 for ₹15.5 crore.
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Image Credit: IPL T20
Updated 10:40 IST, August 31st 2020