For the Indian Premier League franchises, left-arm fast bowlers remain prized assets and the two-day auction attested that. Trent Boult going to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 8 crore didn’t offer any surprise, for the Kiwi is a world-class operator. But B-listers like Khaleel AhmedChetan Sakariya and Jaydev Unadkat, too, enjoyed big pay days.
Another interesting aspect of the auction was a change in the franchises’ thought process as regards to picking spinners. Multi-skilled cricketers got big money, be it Punjab Kings forking out Rs 11.5 crore for Liam Livingstone and Rs 6 crore for Odean Smith, or the franchise spending Rs 2 crore for India U-19 all-rounder Raj Bawa. Mumbai Indians snapping up the injured Jofra Archer for Rs 8 crore did raise eyebrows, as the England paceman is unlikely to play in the 2022 edition.
Why did MI go all-out for the injured Archer?
Several eyebrows were raised when the England fast bowler made a late entry to the auction pool. For nearly a year now, Archer hasn’t played any cricket and according to the England and Wales Cricket Board, is still “in the final stages” of his recovery from an elbow surgery. The 26-year-old listed himself at a base price of Rs 2 crore and went to MI for Rs 8 crore after a three-way bidding war. This is despite the BCCI rider that a replacement wouldn’t be allowed for him if the player misses the 2022 season due to his injury. Twitter went berserk at the possibility of Archer pairing up with Jasprit Bumrah, but the fast bowler himself reacted with an eye-popping emoji.
For MI’s part, clearly this was an investment for the future, which champion teams sometimes make. To draw a football analogy, this offered a throwback to former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson waiting for a year for Ruud van Nistelrooy to recover from an injured knee after agreeing an £18.5million transfer fee with PSV Eindhoven in 2000.
Tymal Mills for Rs 1.5 crore was MI’s adequate cover for Archer this season.
Why do teams covet left-arm quicks?
There aren’t many quality left-arm fast bowlers around and in a mega auction involving 10 teams, demand far exceeded supply. “There’s more demand than supply and there are challenges because of 10 teams. The auction dynamics are very different,” Punjab Kings head coach Anil Kumble told reporters.
Khaleel last played for India two-and-a-half years ago. His T20 economy rate is north of eight, but after intense bidding, Delhi Capitals bagged him for Rs 5.25 crore. Unadkat took four wickets from six games in last year’s IPL. His last game for India was in 2018. MI picked him for Rs 1.3 crore on Sunday. Sakariya, still very much a work in progress, went to DC for Rs 4.2 crore.
Left-arm quicks are coveted because of the unpredictability they offer. Bowling with the new ball, they prompt batsmen to open their stance a bit because of the natural angle which takes the ball away from the right-hander. A left-arm fast bowler with the ability to bring the ball into the batsman becomes even more difficult to counter due to the guessing factor. With the old ball, when they come around the wicket, they can make the ball straighten after pitching. Also, in the shorter formats, fast bowlers use wide yorkers a lot in the slog overs. From that point of view, a left-arm seamer gets an advantage to target the tramline, bowling from over the wicket.
Why did Livingstone’s value skyrocket?
The 28-year-old from Lancashire played just five matches for Rajasthan Royals during the second phase of the IPL last year, scoring 42 runs. At the T20 World Cup, he scored 46 runs in six games for England. Livingstone was the highest run-getter (348) in The Hundred last season and hit sixes for fun, 27 in total. He is widely considered to be one of the most talented young England batsmen, but Livingstone wouldn’t have got much money if he weren’t multi-skilled. He has the ability to bowl leg-breaks to right-handers and off-breaks to lefties. Five franchises bid for him and Punjab looked determined to rope him in, ostensibly to use the player as an all-rounder. Livingstone is also an outstanding fielder. At an auction that fell for multi-skilled cricketers, he was in the right place at the right time. Livingstone’s compatriot Dawid Malan went unsold in the first round despite being among the top five T20I batsmen in the world. Franchises weren’t interested in a specialist, a top-order overseas batsman.
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Smith bowled economically and took four wickets in the recent India versus West Indies ODI series. The Caribbean all-rounder showed his batting pyrotechnics when he laid into Kuldeep Yadav in the final ODI. “We have been tracking the players for a while,” Kumble said.
A tally of 252 runs and nine wickets at the U-19 World Cup, especially his Man-of-the-Match performance in the final – 5/31 and 35 runs under pressure – did the trick for Bawa, at a time when Indian cricket is crying out for a genuine seam-bowling all-rounder.
Why is there a decline in mystery spinners’ value?
In T20 cricket, wrist-spinners are always the most sought-after players because of their ability to take wickets in the middle overs. Little wonder then that leg-spinners went big – Royal Challengers Bangalore getting Wanindu Hasaranga for Rs 10.75 crore, Rajasthan Royals pocketing Yuzvendra Chahal for Rs 6.5 crore, Punjab spending Rs 5.25 crore for Rahul Chahar and Gujarat Titans splurging Rs 9 crore for all-rounder Rahul Tewatia.
Conventional off-spinners who can bat became expensive, like Sunrisers Hyderabad buying Washington Sundar for Rs 8.75 crore. But the so-called mystery spinners weren’t in demand. K Gowtham’s value dropped from Rs 9.25 crore with Chennai Super Kings last year to Rs 90 lakh for Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday. KC Cariappa, who was a Rs 2.4-crore buy for Kolkata Knight Riders at the 2015 auction, was sold to Royals for Rs 30 lakh this time around.
With teams relying heavily on analysts, there’s no longer any mystery left. Varun Chakravarthy was the only Indian mystery spinner to get a good value at this IPL, retained by KKR for Rs 8 crore. Varun’s mystery spin has worked for the franchise, although the 30-year-old was found out at international level, as Babar Azam unlocked his secret at the T20 World Cup last year.
Why didn’t Morgan spark interest?
England’s captain went fantastically unsold during the first round on Sunday. Morgan masterminded KKR’s revival during the second phase of the IPL last year. But as a batsman, he had an average tournament – 133 runs in 17 games. This year, KKR have broken the bank for Shreyas Iyer and he is considered to be a captaincy candidate.
Iyer is still very much a work in progress as a leader. But the majority of the franchises these days pick captains who offer good commercial value, giving tactical responsibility to the head coach and support staff. The two most successful IPL franchises, however, still keep their captains at the forefront – Rohit Sharma at MI and MS Dhoni at CSK. RCB, too, had a strong captain in Virat Kohli and that they have taken Faf du Plessis this time suggests a continuation even after Kohli’s decision to step down.
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