IPL auction 2020: 3 reasons why KKR paid such a huge amount for Pat Cummins
The much-anticipated IPL auction 2020, which was held at Kolkata, is behind us now. All in all, 62 players (29 of them overseas players) were sold at the event, which delivered plenty of entertainment and surprises.
There were several bidding wars between franchises that broke their banks in order to secure players' services.
At the end of the day, while Glenn Maxwell and Chris Morris received princely sums, Pat Cummins was the costliest player of the day. Cummins was expected to be on the radar of quite a few franchises, but it still came as a surprise when Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for an record Rs 15.5 crore.
Here, we look at three reasons why Cummins became the costliest overseas player in IPL history.
#1 KKR needed a quality fast bowler and Cummins was their answer
When Kolkata Knight Riders released their squad of retained players in mid-November, there was a clear void in their fast bowling stocks. The team did not have a quality fast bowler in their ranks that could open the bowling with Lockie Ferguson in IPL 2020.
Fast forward to the IPL 2020 auction on 19 December, and KKR were clearly looking to plug the gap. They decided to break the bank in set two and, after a fierce bidding war that pitted KKR, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore against each other, managed to secure Cummins’ services.
KKR coach Brendon McCullum hailed Cummins as “the best player at the auction” and said it was a major reason why they bought him. It is indeed very difficult to suggest otherwise.
Cummins, the No. 1 ranked Test bowler and No. 4 ranked ODI bowler, has taken the most international wickets in 2019 (94). He has produced several world-class performances over the past few years, such as match-figures of 8-119 against England in January 2018, 14 wickets in the World Cup 2019 and 29 wickets at an average of 19.62 in the recent Ashes series.
Apart from that, Cummins has transformed himself from the injury-prone bowler of 2011-2017 to the injury-free, tough and consistent bowler of 2019. He is also more mature and experienced. McCullum alluded to this at the post-auction press conference when he said:
“I think what we’ve seen is the development of a cricketer. In the last couple of years he’s grown into his body; and he’s become very robust in terms of injuries. He is now the vice-captain of the Australia cricket team and that’s a mark of his development in the last couple of years."