How did England players fare at the IPL 2022 Auction?
The two-day fierce bidding war at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction concluded on Sunday. As many as 299 professional cricketers went under the hammer, with 10 franchises trying to build their strongest possible squads for the upcoming edition of the IPL.
A total of 24 English players were included in the 600-player auction pool. But the IPL franchises chose only 18 of them to be auctioned.
The blockbuster auction did not include England's two key players in Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali. Buttler and Ali were retained by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for ₹10 crore and ₹8 crore respectively.
In a call to action to rejuvenate England’s Test side, skipper Joe Root and his deputy, Ben Stokes, decided to pull their names from the IPL 2022 Auction. The duo will play in the County Championship.
With a great deal of white-ball specialists in the English contingent, IPL franchises were always going to target players from England. Also, ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) informed England that players will be available for the entire IPL season this year.
As the Punjab Kings (PBKS) splashed a humongous ₹11.50 crore for Liam Livingston, the all-rounder not only became the highest-earning English player but also the most expensive overseas buy in this year’s auction.
The Punjab-based side beat the likes of CSK, Gujrat Titans (GT) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to attain the services of Livingston. The multi-faceted right-hander has England's fastest T20I hundred record to his name (in 42 balls) and can bowl both off-spin and leg-spin.
Liam Livingstone Sold To PBKS For 11.25 cr 😳😳
.
.
#IPL #IPLAuction https://t.co/MDLgsu5mpq
Despite being ruled out of this season's IPL courtesy of his injury, Jofra Archer became the second-most expensive English player at the mega auction. The Mumbai Indians (MI) forked out ₹8 crore on Archer to secure his services for the 2023 season and beyond.
While it's a gamble for Mumbai to buy him now given the uncertainty around his fitness, Archer's match-winning prowess is undeniable.
His pace. His precision. His tweets.
Jofra Archer is 𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 🔥
#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #AalaRe #TATAIPLAuction #IPLAuction @JofraArcher https://t.co/AH23A19cQB
Meanwhile, the newly-formed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) acquired another English captivating pacer in Mark Wood. Although Wood would've played just one IPL game in his career, LSG splurged ₹7.5 crore for the right-armer.
Two swashbuckling English batters in Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy also found suitors at the mega auction. While Bairstow moved to PBKS for ₹6.75 crore, Roy was bought by GT at what appears to be a bargain price at ₹2 crore.
Here are all the English players bought at the IPL 2022 Auction
1. Liam Livingston - Punjab Kings for ₹11.5 crore
2. Jofra Archer - Mumbai Indians for ₹8 crore
3. Mark Wood - Lucknow Super Giants for ₹7.5 crore
4. Jonny Bairstow - Punjab Kings for ₹6.75 crore
5. Chris Jordan - Chennai Super Kings for ₹3.5 crore
6. Jason Roy - Gujrat Titans for ₹2 crore
7. Tymal Mills - Mumbai Indians for ₹1.5 crore
8. Sam Billings - Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹2 crore
9. David Willey - Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹2 crore
10. Alex Hales - Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹1.5 crore
11. Benny Howell - Punjab Kings for ₹40 lakhs
England's white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan was unsold at the mega auction
Despite IPL franchises spending a total of ₹46.65 crore on Englishmen at the IPL 2022 Auction, some salient players found no takers as well.
England's World Cup-winning captain, Eoin Morgan, who entered the auction at a base price of ₹1.5 crore, failed to attract bids on Day 2 of the mega auction. He was even left off the list of players that appeared for the accelerated auction round.
Known for his tactical acumen in white-ball cricket, Morgan architected KKR's brilliant turnaround in the last edition of the IPL.
England's Eoin Morgan goes unsold
📸 Credit: @ICC
#IPLAuction #IPL2022MegaAuction #IPLAuction2022 #IPLMegaAuction2022 #IPL2022Auction #EoinMorgan #TATAIPLAuction #TATAIPL https://t.co/pSeWJDDT3W
Former world No.1 T20I batter Dawid Malan also joined his limited overs' skipper and remained unsold. He came to PBKS amidst a lot of excitement last season, but he only got to play one game, scoring 26 runs.
Despite Adil Rashid being ranked fourth in the ICC's T20I rankings for bowlers, the franchises decided to give him the cold shoulder. Two left-arm quicks, George Garton and Reece Topley, also weren't able to attract any suitors at the mega auction.
Here are all the Englishmen who remain unsold at the IPL 2022 Auction
1. Eoin Morgan
2. Dawid Malan
3. Adil Rashid
4. Reece Topley.
5. George Garton.
6. Laurie Evans
7. Tom Kohler-Cadmore