IPL Auction 2019: Calypso Is The Tune As West Indies Dominate
Caribbeans dominate the IPL 2019 Auction.
Spare a thought for Jason Holder. The West Indies captain and a handy all rounder did not find any taker despite going under the hammer twice, even as a number of his Caribbean counterparts bagged impressive packages.
Nevertheless, the shortest format of the game has often been dominated by the Windies. Gayle, Pollard, Narine, Bravo...the list of Calypso kings who have set IPL stages the ablaze over the years. It might well be the same this time too.
The pick of the Calypso lot was Carlos Brathwaite, the hero of the 2016 T20 World Cup, will return to his happy hunting ground, Eden Gardens, as Kolkata Knight Riders picked up the all rounder for Rs 5 crore.
The all rounder, who represented the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last edition of IPL, boasts of a strike rate of 146.89 in T20s.
The left-hander duo of Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer both got Rs 4.2 crore contracts from Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, respectively.
Pooran, who is also a wicketkeeper, might prove to be a good buy for the team from Punjab, given it had no keepers in its side. KL Rahul was doing the job for them in the last IPL.
Hetmyer, on the other hand, made his mark in the recently concluded ODI series against India, smashing 106 off 78 balls and 94 off 64 balls in back-to-back games at Guwahati and Visakhapatnam.
Hetmyer comes with the reputation of being a hard-hitting batsman, having a T20 strike rate of 144.
Sherfane Rutherford, the 20-year old Guyanese proved to be another surprise package, with Delhi Capitals paying as much as Rs 2 crore for the hard-hitting left handed batsman, who has a strike rate of 142.50 in T20s.
Fast bowler duo of Oshane Thomas and Keemo Paul also found buyers. Thomas, who impressed on the India tour with his pace went to Rajasthan Royals at Rs 1.1 crore.
Thomas will try to find his place in the first XI as a specialist foreign fast bowler in the Royals’ line up which has Indian pacers like Dhawal Kulkarni, Varun Aaron and Jaydev Unadkat in its ranks.
Paul was bought by Delhi Capitals at Rs 50 lakh. The team from the capital city already boasts of a strong pace battery with Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Ishant Sharma and Avesh Khan in its ranks – and Paul might find it tough to find a spot in the first XI
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