How Have the Most Expensive Buys at 2021 IPL Auction Fared Since?
RR, RCB & Punjab Kings did not hold back on the purse strings at the IPL Auction.
Not too long ago, at the IPL 2021 Auction in Chennai there were some intense bidding wars over the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Chris Morris and Kyle Jamieson, which surprised quite a few.
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell’s recent seasons in the IPL have not seen him live up to his lofty standards while New Zealander Kyle Jamieson is still quite a fresh face at the highest level.
Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings did not hold back on the purse strings as they went for the players they wanted, in the process rewriting some of the records too.
Here’s a look at how some of the most expensive buys at the 2021 IPL Auction have been doing in their games since.
Glenn Maxwell
One of the most dangerous middle-order batsmen, Maxwell’s IPL 2020 was far from what he or anyone would have expected. Cut to 2021, Maxwell was released by Punjab Kings after a poor season and at the auction, yet again had teams going for the paddle and eventually joining RCB for INR 14.25 Cr.
However, since the auction, Maxwell, who had a good white ball series against India in Australia, has not been in the best of form. Australia and New Zealand are currently playing a 5 match T20 series with the Kiwis leading 2-0.
Maxwell has registered scores of 3 and 1 in the first two games so far.
Jhye Richardson
The fourth costliest player at the IPL Auction at INR 14 Cr, Richardson was signed on eventually by Punjab Kings. The fast bowler can be quite a handful with the pace he can generate but is also prone to being expensive.
Richardson, who will likely team up with Mohammed Shami in the IPL, has featured in both T20 games picking 3 wickets. And in his last four games four games for Perth Scorchers in the BBL he had picked three wickets, going wicketless in two.
Kyle Jamieson
The New Zealand pacer was one of the most sought after players in the Auction with RCB and Mike Hesson having the final say in the bidding war at INR 15 Cr. The tall fast bowler was overwhelmed as this was the first time he was in the Auction but said that the price tag pressures isn’t something he is overly worried about.
Jamieson’s height and the bounce he generates is expected to be a big weapon for the Virat Kohli led side and the bowler has a best of 7/6 in domestic T20s.
However against Australia, Jamieson has not had the best games and has been expensive in both outings registering figures of 32/1 and 56/0.
Chris Morris
The release of the South African by RCB raised a few eyebrows and expectedly, Morris was one of the most spoken about names at the Auction, before and after it too. Morris, who is the most expensive player in IPL, costed Rajasthan Royals INR 16.25 Cr.
Morris, who has been part of the domestic T20 tournament in South Africa over the last week, has played five games since the Auction.
The bowling all-rounder has picked 5 wickets, going wicketless only twice and also registering an unbeaten 21 in the first game in a winning effort, where the Titans were chasing 117 and completed it in the 18th over.
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