Like every year’s auction, Pacers got the backing of most of the bidders. There was a star named Yuvraj Singh who had numerous great outings in the auction but never delivered upto his own standards in most of the seasons. It becames evident that Maxwell has been following his trend too. A player who failed to clear the ropes not even once in entire season gets a whopping 14.25 Cr deals makes no sense right. Don’t worry, it’s what auctions are meant to be. Let’s find out who are the impressive picks this time.
Shakib-Al-Hasan – KKR – 3.2 Cr
After serving the one year ban from playing the sport, he thought that everything will be alright. He applied for the 10th Edition of BBL and to his surprise, he was rejected by Cricket Australia citing his disciplinary actions. If it happens for a player like Steve Smith or David Warner, they won’t mind that. After all, they’re australians right!. The leading wicket taker in BPL would’ve worried about bagging a IPL contract this time. But KKR Management had different idea. They snatched him for a deal of 3.2 Cr and called him a lucky charm as he was part of their two title wins.
Cheteshwar Pujara – CSK – 50L
Pujara in IPL? You are kidding me!! This will be the reaction you might get from the majority of the Indian fans. There is a big misconception that once you’ve been tagged as a test player, you won’t succeed in limited-overs cricket. Pujara is not a stranger to IPL. In fact, he has played a total of 30 matches and his last appearance was with Punjab Kings ( then Kings X1 Punjab) in 2014. He last played in the 2014 Edition. His numbers in limited-overs cricket aren’t that bad. In T20s, He has scored 1356 Runs in 64 Matches which includes 7 Fifties and a 61-Ball Century. He has expressed his wish in playing the cash-rich league many a time and he’ll definitely make use of any given opportunity. And Finally, CSK has granted his wish to be part of IPL. He was bought for his base price of 50 Lakhs. When the deal was sealed, every other team was clapping for some reason. It may be due to respect or sarcastic manner. Whatever may be the reason, He will answer that in few months in his own style.
Shahrukh Khan -PBKS – 5.25 Cr
You would’ve seen numerous memes about his name & Preity Zinta already? Aren’t you? Talking about the name, it was his mother’s cousin sister named him as she was a die hard SRK Fan. It maybe a new name for many of us. He was like a child prodigy. He made his first class debut for Tamil Nadu team by the age of 18. He has been making a new identity for himself in past few years. He played for Lyca Kovai Kings as a opener in TNPL for two years and got a fair bit of success there. But in his team, he was designated for the finisher role and he took the responsibility with both hands. In the recently concluded Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy, He played a blinder of a knock of 19-Ball 40 in a tensed Quarter Final game against Himachal Pradesh. He followed it up a blistering 18 off 7 balls in the finals which saw his team lifting the trophy for the second time in the tournament history. “I was definitely disappointed. “If I tell you I wasn’t disappointed, I’m lying,”. “But I overcame it really well. Looking back, I knew what was coming next, I knew what to do next.” These were the words said by him after he didn’t found any buyers in 2020 Auction. He had a base price of 20L this time. Luckily he got picked for a majestic 5.25 Crores to Punjab Kings. He will be the missing piece for middle order woes for the punjab team. Watch out for his mighty blows in IPL 2021.
