IPL 2020: 3 players who were lucky to be bought
The Indian Premier League changes the lives of many cricketers in terms of both, international recognition and getting thick pockets. Every year many cricketers get lucky to play in the IPL despite the limited services that they offer, while the deserving ones are left out for no particular reasons. This is what the pressure in the minds of the team owners, their coaches and analysts can lead to at the mega auctions.
Very often, there are budget constraints on the grounds of which the wish lists are not fulfilled and the franchises settle for a second-string player. In the IPL 2020 auction held at Kolkata a few days ago, a similar event occurred. Many T20 specialists like Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Adam Zampa, Evin Lewis, Colin Ingram, Martin Guptill, Carlos Brathwaite, Andile Phehlukwayo, and many others went unsold while there were a few picks that raised eyebrows of cricket fans and experts. Here are 3 of those players who were lucky to get picked by an IPL franchise.
#3 Josh Hazlewood
The Australian fast bowler is a Test-match specialist and hasn't played a T20 game of any kind since 2016. Josh Hazlewood has not been a part of Australia's ODI setup for over a year now and Chennai Super Kings putting a bid on him came as a surprise. Of the 30 T20s he has played, Hazlewood has picked 37 wickets at an economy rate of 7.77.
The 28-year-old has limited skills to offer in the shortest format with no specialisation of bowling at the death. He is an established red-ball cricketer well known for his consistent line and length and thus lacks the weapons like a yorker or a slower ball. Considering the above reasons, Hazlewood might have found himself lucky to get a breakthrough with a contract in the cash-rich league.