CHENNAI: It was always going to be a big payday for the marquee players. Mini auctions are where they go for big money irrespective of recent form on star value. Whether it was Yuvraj Singh in 2015 or Chris Morris in 2021, it is where records get broken for the highest bid. In the lead-up to the main auction, three overseas all-rounders went for over Rs 19 crore in the mock auctions conducted by the official digital streaming partner.
Those mock auctions became reality on Friday in Kochi. England all-rounder Sam Curran became the priciest player in the history of the IPL as he was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 18.5 crore. Australian all-rounder Cameroon Green went up to Rs 17.5 crore for Mumbai Indians followed by Ben Stokes, who was bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 16.25 crore. None of this is a surprise. Historically, overseas all-rounders always go big in the IPL. There is an established pattern. But unlike the previous mega auction, this one was an opportunity to look if the franchises are changing or rather upgrading the way they look at the T20 format. It was visible. Kane Williamson, whose value was Rs 16 crore in 2022, was sold at his base price of Rs 2 crore while England’s Harry Brook, with 20 T20Is to his name, went for Rs 13.25 crore. As many as eight England players got themselves a team. Namibia’s David Wiese, Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza and Ireland pacer Josh Little all had a day to remember.
That said, mini-auctions could be very tricky. Most teams go into it hoping to plug a hole or two while a few other teams go for a clean slate hoping to form a core group of players. Often, teams tend to overspend on one player at the top and then scrap their way through the rest of the auction. A case in point being Sunrisers Hyderabad. They went all-in for Harry Brook and Mayank Agarwal as a result of which they could not go after Curran or Stokes or Green. On the other hand, CSK tried to get an overseas all-rounder. They went for Curran before backing out and then spent a very similar amount on Stokes.
While these things are always a gamble, Brian Lara, SRH head coach, also stressed on the role the new impact player rule has to play. “It allows us to look at specialists instead of saying we need to get an all-rounder. We are now looking at the fact we can replace the batter with a bowler and the bowler with a batter. So, that gives us a little bit of flexibility,” he said.
As always, Indian spinners and pacers were among the picks in the auction as well. Shivam Mavi went for Rs 6 crore and Mukesh Kumar for Rs 5.5 crore. J&K all-rounder Vivrant Sharma also had a big pay day, going for Rs 2.6 crore. If one has to look at the whole picture, Mumbai, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants are among the teams that probably came out of the auction getting exactly what they wanted. Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals did not have much to do and one has to wait and see how it plays out.
The cards have been dealt with. These are the teams the franchises will have to field in 2023. But a good auction does not necessarily translate into a good season. There are way too many examples from the past to prove this point. And irrespective of what the franchises feel about the auction, they will try to start afresh with the combinations and make the most of it come April.