IPL 2019: 5 players who were picked at base price but performed extremely well

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most successful T20 leagues in the world. The T20 league was introduced way back in 2008 and has provided a career to many players.

The ultimate goal of each and every player is to perform at their best to win the games for their respective teams. But, the only thing that separates these players is the salary. While some players' are picked up at a mind-boggling price at the auctions, the others are just picked up at their low base prices.

However, it has often been seen that the players picked up at a low price have gone on to perform exceptionally well during the course of the tournament. The cricketers who took small amount gave more match-winning performances than the cricketers who received a huge amount.

In the article, we take a look at the players who were picked at their base price and performed extremely well.

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#5 Kevon Cooper - Rajasthan Royals

Kevon Cooper

The all-rounder from West Indies, Kevon Cooper made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Rajasthan Royals in 2012. His all-round skills in the 2011 Champions League was noticed by Rajasthan Royals who bought him at a base price of $50,000.

In his debut IPL season, the all-rounder scalped 10 wickets in 6 matches and followed the performance with 19 wickets in 14 matches in IPL 2013.

Kevon Cooper, who smashed a six of the very first ball he faced in IPL and scored 11 off 3, went on to take four wickets in the same game against Kings XI Punjab. In the 2014 season, Cooper who could only score 39 runs in five matches, picked up just 4 wickets at an average of 33.50. The Caribbean all-rounder soon lost his form and was released by Royals.

He last played in the cash-rich league in 2014. It was a profitable purchase for Royals as the all-rounder was purchased at his base price of $50,000.

#4 Mayank Markande - Mumbai Indians

Mayank Markande

The leg-spinner from Punjab, Mayank Markande had an impressive start to his IPL career. He made his List A and T20 debuts for Punjab in 2018. His amazing performances in the domestic circuit were noticed by Mumbai Indians. He impressed everyone in the pre-auction trials and was bought by Mumbai Indians for the base price of Rs 20 lakhs.

Markande, who troubled the Mumbai Indians' batsmen in the nets, was included in the playing eleven right from the first game. In his debut game against Chennai Super Kings, the youngster dismissed MS Dhoni cheaply. In his second game against SRH, he picked up four important wickets and became the youngest player to do so in IPL.

He became the purple cap holder just after two games. He finished the tournament as Mumbai Indians' third highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets in 14 games at an economy of 8.36.

#3 Lungi Ngidi - Chennai Super Kings

Lungi Ngidi

The tall South Africa pacer, Lungi Ngidi came into limelight when he finished as a second highest wicket-taker in the African Cup. His performances in the domestic circuit earned him a spot in South Africa's T20I squad.

He made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka in 2017 and won the Man of the Match award for his brilliant performance. However, he was noticed by the IPL franchises when he troubled the Indian team during the Test series in early 2018.

In the 2018 IPL auction, Ngidi was bought by Chennai Super Kings at his base price of Rs 50 lakhs. Despite getting the low amount, he gave his 100 percent to his IPL franchise.

The right-arm pacer played 7 games in IPL 2018 and picked up 11 wickets at an economy of just 6 which is commendable. His performances at such a cheap price helped his team to win their third IPL title.

#2 Rahul Tripathi - Rising Pune Supergiants

Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi, who plays for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy, has an average record in the domestic cricket. He is primarily known for his hard-hitting skills.

He was bought by Rising Pune Supergiant at his base price of Rs 10 lakhs in 2017. The skipper, Steve Smith asked him to open the innings for his team during the 10th edition of the IPL season.

Tripathi did not fail to impress his skipper as he accumulated 391 runs in 14 innings at a staggering strike-rate of 146.44 with the best knock of 93 off 52 deliveries against Kolkata Knight Riders. He was definitely more than just value for money for his franchise owners.

#1 Nitish Rana - Mumbai Indians

Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana is one of the aggressive left-handed batsmen who could bowl off-breaks. He came into limelight when he accumulated 299 runs in 8 innings at an average of 42.71 and a massive strike-rate of 17.88 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2015. Rana, who struck 21 sixes, was the record holder of hitting most sixes in the tournament.

Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians had eyes on him after he proved his ability in the domestic circuit. In 2015, he was bought by Mumbai Indians at his base price of Rs 10 lakhs. But, he did not get an opportunity to wear the blue jersey. However, he was retained for the next two seasons. He appeared in four games and scored 104 runs with the best knock of 70 off just 36 balls in 2016 IPL season.

He was included in the playing eleven right from the first game in the 2017 IPL season. The aggressive left-hander showed his hard-hitting skills when he plundered 333 runs in 13 games at an average of 30.27. Nitish Rana has scored more runs than those who received the huge salary.