Australians were the most sought after cricketers in the IPL auction and had 13 players bought in across the eight franchises on Thursday.
The most expensive of the Aussie players was the fast bowler Pat Cummins who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for an eye watering price of 15.5 crore.
Eight franchises with a total purse of Rs 207.65 crore and 73 available squad places between them went into the auction for the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League and fought tooth and nail to get their men. Some made it big, 62 to be precise, while others failed to get a contract with any of the eight franchises.
Interestingly, six out of the top 10 players bought at the IPL 2020 auctions were either Australian, a seam bowler or both. Maxwell, who had recently taken a break from the sport due to mental health issues, returns to the franchise that he had represented for four editions between 2014 and 2017. KXIP bagged the hard-hitting all-rounder, nicknamed the ‘Big Show’, for a sum of Rs 10.75 crore.
CSK bolstered their bowling attack going in for bowlers. They managed to get Sam Curran, Piyush Chawla, Josh Hazlewood and R Sai Kishore.
The slow nature of the wicket and possible turn that Chepauk stadium might offer has tempted CSK to opt for slow bowlers or spinners. Local lad Sai Kishore and the veteran Piyush Chawala are considered a best pick. However, one has to note that CSK already has Imrtan Tahir, Santner, Harbhajan Singh and Karn Sharma.