mid-day.com examines the Top-5 buys at the last auction and concludes the performances did not exactly justify the huge spending by the franchises
Pat Cummins. Pic: BCCI/IPL
Ahead of the February 18 Indian Premier League-14 auction in Chennai, mid-day.com looks at how last season’s Top-5 buys performed during the IPL-13 held in the United Arab Emirates.
ADVERTISEMENT
Pat Cummins ₹15.5
Kolkata Knight Riders (retained)
Matches: 14, Runs conceded: 409, Wickets: 12, Best: 4-34, Economy: 7.86
Pat Cummins, who had played for Delhi Daredevils in 2017, made his IPL-13 return in style by becoming the most expensive foreign player in the cash-rich T20 league history. However, the Aussie pacer couldn’t live up to expectations. Despite poor form, Kolkata Knight Riders kept their faith in him as he eventually went on to play all 14 matches for the franchise. As they say, you save best for the last, but his match-winning 4-34 in the final league match against Rajasthan Royals was too late for the World No. 1 bowler to come back to form as the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned team failed to make it to the playoffs. He however had a good run with the bat, scoring 146 at an average of 20.85.
Glenn Maxwell: ₹10.75 crore
Kings XI Punjab (released)
Matches:13, Runs:108, Highest:32, Average:15.42, Strike-rate: 101.88, Wickets: 3
Glenn Maxwell. Pic: BCCI/IPL
Glenn Maxwell was roped in by Kings XI Punjab for a whopping ₹10.75 crore, but he turned out to be the biggest flop of the season. The Aussie big-hitter let his side down, failing to score a single half-century or hit a six despite getting numerous chances. His poor strike-rate of 101.88 made things worse for the KL Rahul-led side. He failed with the ball too, claiming just three wickets at a poor economy rate of 8.04 with his off-spin.
Chris Morris ₹10 crore
Royal Challengers Bangalore (released)
Matches: 9, Runs conceded: 210, Wickets: 11, Best: 4-26, Economy: 6.63
Chris Morris. Pic: BCCI/IPL
Chris Morris, who missed the initial part of IPL-13 due to a side strain, looked in great touch in the business end of the tournament, going for just 6.63 runs an over. The all-rounder, however, didn’t have any impact with the bat, scoring just 34 runs at a poor average of 8.50. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson made it clear that the South African all-rounder was not retained due to fitness issues and nothing to do with his performance.
Sheldon Cottrell ₹8.5 crore
Kings XI Punjab (released)
Matches: 6, Runs conceded: 176, Wickets: 6, Best: 2-17, Economy: 8.80
Sheldon Cottrell. Pic: BCCI/IPL
A lot was expected from Salute Master Sheldon Cottrell in his maiden IPL season. The left-arm swing bowler, however, could not recover from the worst nightmare of his life - Rahul Tewatia smashing five sixes in his over as Rajasthan Royals chased the mammoth 224-run target inside 20 overs. The Jamaican speedster, who claimed four wickets in his first two matches, failed miserably in the next four games, thus forcing skipper KL Rahul to exclude him from the upcoming matches.
Nathan Coulter-Nile ₹8 crore
Mumbai Indians (released)
Matches: 7, Runs conceded: 206, Wickets: 5, Best: 2-29, Economy: 7.92
Nathan Coulter-Nile. Pic: BCCI/IPL
Nathan Coulter-Nile’s sizzling form (15 wickets in eight matches for KKR) in the 2017 edition inspired Mumbai Indians to spend a whopping ₹8 crore for the Aussie speedster. But he failed to match the consistency of teammates Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, thus missing getting into the playing XI on most occasions. However, he had his best bowling figures (2-29) of the season in the final against Delhi Capitals, claiming the wickets of Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
