Monty's Spin on – the hits and misses of the Indian Premier League player auction

By Rory Poulter 16th Feb 2022

Former England cricket star and Nub News contributor, Monty Panesar, gives his view on this week's IPL auction.

The two-day auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw many cricket stars recruited at a price tag of more than £1million – a truly life-changing sum of money. Hard hitting Englishman, Liam Livingstone, is the most expensive recruit from these shores after being picked up by Punjab Kings for a remarkable 11.50 crore - £1.1m. However, I have to admit shock that both Adil Rashid and England captain Eoin Morgan were among a number of stars to miss out. Rashid is ranked third in the ICC rankings for T20 bowlers and is – beyond question – one of the very best white ball bowlers in the game. It appears the IPL franchises preferred their own Indian leggies – the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Rahul Chahar. When you factor in the fact that RCB picked up Sri Lankan leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, while Ravi Bishnoi went to the new franchise, Lucknow Supergiants, the options for Rashid were narrowed. Morgan has been an excellent leader and captained Kolkata Knight Riders to the final last year, albeit his own average of 18 and strike rate of 120 did not help his cause. His winning mentality combined with being a superb tactician and a reputation for excellent man-management suggests he will soon be making a career as a coach. England's Dawid Malan also missed out despite a ranking of number five in the world. It didn't help his cause that he chose not to travel to UAE for the remainder of IPL 2021 and, instead, opted to spend time with his family ahead of the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. Livingstone's price spiralled as the result of a huge bidding war which initially saw KKR lock horns with CSK, only for Punjab Kings to swoop in at the last minute. He will join his England team-mage Jonny Bairstow (£650,000) in the Punjab team, where he will bring both explosive six hitting and an effective mix of mystery spin. The roster will also include young English top order batsman and canny bowler, Benny Howell. The coaches at Punjabi Kings will hope their investment in Livingstone – some might say gamble - pays off. Jonty Rhodes and Anil Kumble would want a better display in the IPL from Livingstone than he has offered during previous encounters. In the nine IPL games Livingstone has played, he scored a scored modest 112 runs. However, he has come on leaps and bounds in the last 12 months and has a tremendous record in his 164 T20 matches, where he has racked up over 4,000 runs. He has two centuries to his name, but his X-factor is a strike rate of 145 per 100 balls. The Punjab Kings owner, Preity Zeita, will expect some firecrackers from him. He has been bowling well in the Pakistan Super League and it will be interesting to see how his skills develop under Kumble's guidance. Looking at the other high profile recruits in the auction, Ishan Kishan was the most expensive buy after Mumbai Indians secured his services for just under £1.5m. Deepak Chahar raised an immense £1.37m from Chennai Super Kings, while Shreyas Iyer likewise drew an overwhelming £1.17m from KKR. Others to collect eye-watering contracts included Pradesh Krishna going to RR and New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson, who is off to LSG. Jofra Archer got picked up by Mumbai Indians for £783,000 despite not being available this year as he recovers from surgery. Their bowling coach Zaheer Khan believes they are investing for their future, saying: "To see Bumrah and Archer bowling together in tandem will be worth the wait". Tymal Mills will join Archer at Mumbai, after being brought for £147,000. Mahela Jayawardene coaches Mills in the hundred at Southern Brave was a crucial factor of him being brought by Mumbai Indians. Among the other English players recruited during the auction were Mark Wood, who went for £734,000 and will join Andy Flower at Lucknow Super Giants, and Jason Roy, who got picked up by Gujarat Titans for £197,000. There were late deals for Sam Billings, who will play for his third IPL team with KKR. Chris Jordan will be joining his CSK teammate Moeen Ali and the prospect of playing alongside Dhoni will excite him. Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, who remains out of the England picture despite eye-catching performances in franchise cricket around the world, will also be at the crease, while all-rounder David Willey will be taking his left-arm seam and power hitting to RCB.

English-qualified players in the IPL 2022

Moeen Ali CSK

Jofra Archer MI

Jonny Bairstow PK

Jos Buttler RR

Sam Billings KKR

Alex Hales KKR

Benny Howell PK

Chris Jordan CSK

Liam Livingstone PK

Tymal Mills MI

Jason Roy GT

David Willey RCB

Mark Wood LSG

     

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