As the dust settles on the IPL mini-auction, it is perhaps time for a deep dive. Is there a method to the madness, or is the auction a world in itself which is governed by its own laws and rules, where every plan and strategy is shunned after a while? What explains KKR paying 24.75 crores for Mitch Starc and RCB spending 11.75 crores for Alzarri Joseph, who hadn’t done much in the previous IPL? What explains a team spending 20.50 crores for Pat Cummins, who is a far better red-ball bowler and whose T20 record is modest at best? Do the franchises go by hope and expect that they will be lucky with someone like Cummins? Nothing else explains these spends in the mini-auctions year on year!
The other important takeaway is that smaller auctions are all about who is available, and less about cricketing pedigree. Had it been a full auction, it can be assumed that Cummins wouldn’t have earned half of what he went for. In the absence of quality all-rounders and fast bowlers, teams are pushed to break the bank for players who may not be the best buys in normal circumstances. To give an example, had Kagiso Rabada or Anrich Nortje or Trent Boult been available, would Cummins have gone for that kind of money? And for the record, Cummins has gone for a sum with which Mumbai Indians retained both Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, two of the biggest match-winners in IPL history.
Also important is how Indian players continue to be the flavour if they turn in impressive performances in domestic cricket. Sameer Rizvi getting 8.4 crores, or Shahrukh Khan going for 7.40 crores and Kumar Kushagra for 7.20 crores, is an index of how cricket is now a viable career option. Add the Yash Dayal bid of 5 crores, and you know that one doesn’t need to play for the national team to earn top dollar. If you play well in domestic cricket, you might get an IPL contract which can transform your life.
In sum, it was yet again a day of madness which threw up some strange bids and some baffling decision making, but in the end it wasn’t bereft of emotion either. Rachin Ravindra or Wanindu Hasaranga going for 1.5 crores each, while Cummins fetched 20.50 crores is difficult to explain with pure cricketing logic. Arshin Kulkarni going for 20 lakhs while Kushagra went for 7.20 crores proves how difficult it is to try and make sense of an auction. At the same time, Dayal being picked by RCB showed there is more to the IPL than simple demand and supply. That’s why we continue to celebrate this tournament in the manner that we do.
The best part of an auction is that not every buy will go your way. With 10 teams now in the fray, that’s more the norm rather than an aberration. How do you keep your nerve in such a situation? Take the Starc and Cummins bids, for example. GT and KKR both knew they needed a fast bowler and were going hard for Starc. However, once the bid touched 24.50 crores, GT had to back off. How hard was that for a franchise when you know the need is serious and unless you add a genuine fast bowler to the line-up, there will remain an area of concern that opponents can exploit? You want a player, but you are also conscious that your kitty is fast getting depleted. Does panic set in? Do you then get desperate and make a mistake? How do you deal with a situation like this when raising the paddle once more could decide the team’s balance?
At the end of the auction, some buys continued to baffle. Starc and Cummins are two prime examples. How do you justify such bids? But that’s the whole point of it all. It is not simply logic that determines these outcomes. Timing and need, demand and supply, are key issues at an auction and this one was no different. Each team has ended up with match-winners in their ranks, and now, it is all about which team plays the best. You can only do so much at the auction table. The final act is always on the 22 yards, and that is where things will eventually get decided. So, the jury remains out on this one.
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