IPL 2020: 5 major steal deals from the auction
In the recently-concluded IPL Auction 2020 held at Kolkata, all the 8 teams spent an aggregate of ₹140.3 crore for signing 62 players. Pat Cummins went for ₹15.5 crore after Kolkata Knight Riders entered the bidding war at the very last moment. His Australian team-mate Glenn Maxwell went for a whopping ₹10.75 crore. South African all-rounder Chris Morris, the West-Indian spearhead Sheldon Cottrell also garnered eyeballs during the auction. Among the Indian players, Piyush Chawla was bought by Chennai Super Kings for ₹6.75 crore and the young uncapped players also became expensive buys.
There is always buzz around many foreign and Indian players before the auction and some go for huge deals but some players do not get the privilege to be part of a bidding war and as always, some players went under the hammer and were bought by the franchises for less than expected and these players are expected to light up the IPL 2020 with their performances. Some honourable mentions include Joshua Phillipe, Isuru Udana and Fabian Allen
Here are the top 5 steal deals of IPL Auction 2020:
#5 David Miller (Rajasthan Royals)
Country - South Africa
Type - Batsman
Base Price - ₹75 lakhs
Sold at - ₹75 lakhs
David Miller was one of the main players in IPL for KXIP for a long time before the franchise decided to release him ahead of the auction. Even though his performance in the last few seasons of the IPL hasn't been excellent, he is a proven match-winner. Rajasthan Royals made a very smart buy with David Miller as he can prove to be a huge asset for them, especially in Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
The team looks ferocious with the addition of David Miller in the lineup with other names like Steven Smith, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and if he can win even 2 matches for RR, he is worth the buy at ₹75 lakhs. KXIP releasing might prove to be a blessing in disguise for Miller, who will be looking to revive his career with the Royals. With KXIP, he was burdened with being the lynchpin of the middle-order. In RR, however, due to the presence of Steven Smith and Ben Stokes, he could be given the free license to go hammer and tongs from the word go.
Statistics in IPL:
Matches - 79
Runs - 1850
Highest - 101
Average - 34.26
Strike Rate - 138.78