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What's the story?
Kolkata Knight Riders' CEO Venky Mysore interacted with the media during one of the breaks in the middle of IPL Auction 2020. He answered several questions surrounding KKR's auction strategy, and also disclosed why the franchise shelled out the astronomical amount of INR 15.5 crore to grab the services of Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins.
The background
Cummins became the most expensive foreign player in IPL Auction history when Kolkata Knight Riders submitted a bid of INR 15.5 crores to sign him. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals had taken his price above 10 crore, but Kolkata won the race despite entering late.
The heart of the matter
When asked about the reason behind spending so much amount for Cummins, Venky Mysore replied:
"Well, we would have come in earlier but for the fact that the paddles kept going up.. (laughs)... so, we were certainly interested in him. He was a key player for us that we were targeting and, we were determined to get him so, when we got the first opportunity we came in."
Mysore's words suggest KKR were interested in Cummins right from the start, but were waiting to see how far the battle between RCB and DC would go on. They would have probably wanted to buy him for less than what they ultimately paid, but the length and intensity of the bidding war meant they had no option in the end.
What's next?
The IPL Auction 2020 has ended, with Kolkata Knight Riders signing the likes of Eoin Morgan and Tom Banton apart from Cummins. They also retained Dinesh Karthik as their team captain, but with the added reinforcements they seem like a big threat to win it all in 2020.
