IPL 2019: 5 replacement signings who have been rightly retained by the franchises
The IPL auctions create quite a buzz every year. When auctioneer Richard Madley announces a name, the heart rates increase both for the players as well as the fans. The franchise owners, meanwhile, keenly follow the proceedings so that they can grab any opportunity of snapping up the player.
Such is the intensity of an IPL auction that everyone who is involved in the action (directly or indirectly) is on the edge of their seats until the announced bid for a player is over. Being a part of the auctions never guarantees a lucrative contract for a player until an interested franchise actually makes a solid bid.
But being unsold at the auctions doesn't mean it is the end of a player's IPL dreams. That's because, in life, "someone's misfortune is someone else's opportunity". Several unsold players (at the auctions) have got a contract over the years due to the withdrawal of signed players (due to injury or other commitments).
The last season of the IPL was no exception. Several players pulled out due to injury, and their replacements were subsequently named by the franchises. And while some of those replacements failed, some others grabbed the headlines.
Let us now look at five replacement signings of IPL 2018 who have been retained, and rightly so.
#5 Mitchell McClenaghan
McClenaghan went unsold at last year's IPL auction with a base price of INR 1 crore, which many franchises found to be quite high. Later, he re-joined his former franchise - the Mumbai Indians - as a replacement for the injured Aussie pacer Jason Behrendorff.
It was an unexpected homecoming for McClenaghan, who was released prior to the 2018 auctions in spite of three wonderful seasons at Mumbai.
McClenaghan made his IPL debut in 2015. He was instrumental in Mumbai's title wins in 2015 (18 wickets) and 2017 (19 wickets), providing regular breakthroughs.
Even after coming in as a replacement, there was no stopping him as he took 14 wickets last season.
McClanaghan is an efficient new-ball as well as death bowler, whose prowess lies in bowling yorkers, cutters and back-of-the-hand slower deliveries. The 32-year-old, who has 68 IPL wickets for the Men in Blue, deserved to be retained for at least one more season.