3 players bought at the IPL 2018 auction who turned out to be steals
The IPL player auction was held in Bangalore on January 27 and 28 this year. All the teams rebuilt themselves from scratch and spent a lot of money on the players.
The auction marked a few record-breaking signings and a few players leaving their sides after playing for seven or eight years. It also saw several new players signing contracts with teams.
After the end of the 2018 season, a few teams were criticized for their choice of players in the auction. Their erratic spending of money on players who eventually ended up underperforming was considered one of the biggest factors in their collective failure.
But there were another set of players who were excellent worth for their money, and ended up being absolute steals for the teams which bought them.
Here are three of those players:
#3 Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals)
Innings: 13; Runs: 548; Strike Rate: 155.56; Average:54.80
Jos Buttler was signed by the Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 player Auction for INR 4.4 crore. He was supposed to be their finisher and wicket-keeper, slotting in at number 5 or number 6.
Batting at those positions, Buttler didn't get enough time to settle in and go big. He was able to manage only 120 runs in 7 innings at a strike rate of 126 and an average of 20.
Buttler got a chance to open the batting in a rain-shortened match against the Delhi Daredevils when the team was chasing 150 from 14 overs. He scored 67 runs off 40 balls as the team fell short by 4 runs.
Buttler opened the batting from then on and had a splendid time, racking up 428 runs in 6 innings while averaging 107 and striking at a rate of 165.89. But he had to leave for England before the playoffs, and his departure may have been one of the reasons for his team's loss in the Eliminator.
With openers D'Arcy Short and Ajinkya Rahane not playing well, Buttler's destructive abilities at the top of the order brought the Rajasthan Royals in contention for the playoffs. Although they were languishing close to the bottom early on, they staged a surprise comeback to book a spot in the playoffs ahead of Mumbai Indians, largely due to Buttler's efforts.
Many were surprised to see him getting sold for just INR 4.4 crore, and RR will be happy in their investment on the Englishman.