IPL 2018 Auction: 5 foreign cricketers with low base prices who fetched big money

The IPL auction is probably the most eagerly anticipated day of the year for cricketers from all over the world due to the untold riches it can bestow on some. Needless to say, players need to choose a reasonable base price so that franchises are interested in bidding for him and in some cases, it can prove to be a masterstroke.

The eventual price for which the player is acquired can sometimes not go much beyond the base price but sometimes it can rise manifold if the franchises are interested in signing him up and that has proven to be the case in many instances over the years.

Among the overseas cricketers who were part of the auction in 2018, many of them chose the strategy of going for a lower base price and went home with a hefty deal. The most important thing to look for is by how many times the base price they went for and here is a look at 5 of the biggest ones.

5 Ben Stokes

The England all-rounder is probably one of the most sought-after assets for IPL franchises and it was no surprise when he became the most expensive player at last year's auction, with a deal worth Rs. 14.5 crores with the Rising Pune Supergiants.

So, it might have been perhaps reasonable had Ben Stokes gone for a high base price so that he could be guaranteed a certain amount, but since a bidding war was almost guaranteed, he chose to go for a base price of Rs. 2 crores. The script went as Stokes must have accepted as 3 franchises went for his services.

Chennai Super Kings took his price past 6.4 crores but that soon went through the roof as Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders took it to 11 crores. Eventually, the Rajasthan Royals came into the picture and acquired the star for 12.5 crores, making him the most expensive player at the IPL auction for two seasons running. Stokes went for more than 6 times his base price.

2 Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye

He might have been a late bloomer of sorts, but Australian medium pace bowler Andrew Tye's stock has risen considerably over the past few years due to his consistently superb shows in the slog overs of T20 games.

Last year, he had been great for the Gujarat Lions and it was a given that he was going to spark a scramble among the franchises. However, no one quite expected what went down yesterday at Bangalore as Tye ended up fetching more than 7 times his base price of only Rs. 1 crore.

The bids rose remarkably as plenty of franchises put their hat in the ring for his services and eventually, it was the Kings XI Punjab who walked away with a winning bid of Rs. 7.2 crores for the Australian death overs specialist.

3 Mujeeb Zadran

Mujeeb Zadran

Afghan players have been one of the biggest revelations in international cricket over the past few years and in the 2018 auctions, another leg-spinner from the country produced a dramatic round of bidding.

16-year-old leg-spinner Mujeeb Zadran had impressed at the Under-19 level for Afghanistan and it was not a surprise when bids came flying in for him thick and fast. He had a base price of Rs. 50 lakhs, which is extremely tempting when one considers the fact that he is young and he has the potential to be one of the leading bowlers in the world.

The bidding went back and forth between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab. The latter had tried and failed to get a leg-spinner on Day 1 of the auctions and hence, it was clear that they were going to go as far as possible to land their target. When the hammer finally came down, Zadran went to Kings XI Punjab for Rs. 4 crores, an eight-fold rise from his base price.

2 D'Arcy Short

D'Arcy Short

27-year-old left-handed batsman D'Arcy Short has been a revelation in this season's Big Bash League for the Hobart Hurricanes and naturally, there was bound to be interest for an opening batsman who has scored at a rate of almost 148 runs per 100 deliveries.

Although he could be regarded as an 'unknown quantity' by many, the IPL franchises have an excellent scouting network and more often than not, they know what they are doing. Short had a base price of only Rs. 20 lakhs and hence, a bid was bound to come in. However, it soon turned into an intense round of bidding between Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Daredevils that saw his price rise drastically.

Eventually, the Daredevils decided that they had had enough when the bidding reached the Rs. 4 crores mark. Short fetched 20 times his base price to end up with the Royals and they would hope that he is able to repeat his BBL heroics in the IPL.

1 Jofra Archer

Jofra Archer

A year or so ago, not many knew about this young all-rounder from Barbados, who had moved to England and was trying to become a T20 star.

However, 22-year-old Jofra Archer's recent show in the BBL for the Hobart Hurricanes made him one of the hottest properties in T20 cricket and it was no surprise that he ended up sparking one of the most incredible bidding wars in this year's IPL auctions. The reasons to go for him are compelling.

Archer can bowl at an express pace (90 miles per hour plus), has the variations, can bowl a mean bouncer and can send down superb yorkers. On the other hand, he is an outstanding fielder and a batsman, who can belt sixes when he needs to.

Archer had a base price of Rs. 40 lakhs but soon it became clear that he could go for anything, as Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab took his bidding price to Rs. 4.80 crores.

That is when Sunrisers Hyderabad entered the fray, and after Kings XI Punjab refused to go beyond Rs. 5.20 crores, it was Rajasthan Royals who replaced them. In the end, the Royals who seemed determined to get their man came in with the winning bid of Rs. 7.2 crores. He fetched 18 times more than his base price.