IPL 2020: 5 players whose fortunes changed after a change in franchise

After the 2019 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), 11 players were transferred by teams and 68 players were released by their franchises.

IPL Auction 2020 was held in December 2019 in Kolkata and teams were given an additional purse balance of ₹3 crores in addition to their remaining balance from the previous season. 332 players were put up for sale in the auction, and various franchises bought 62 of these players.

---

IPL 2020: 5 players whose fortunes changed after a change in franchise

While some of the new buys did not go as well as the teams would have anticipated, the others were successful. Looking back at the 2020 edition of the IPL, let us see some players whose fortunes completely changed after the change of franchise.

5. Varun Chakravarthy

Varun Chakravarthy earned an international call-up with his performance this IPL season [iplt20.com]

Varun Chakravarthy was supposed to be a surprise package at IPL 2019. He was pretty much unknown, having played just one season of first-class cricket before the season.

All eyes turned to him when Kings XI Punjab picked up the mystery spinner for a whopping ₹8.4 crores in the 2018 IPL auction. But all we could see was 3 overs from him in a solitary match in the whole season. This included 25 runs off his first over, the most runs conceded by a bowler in an over on his debut.

He was subsequently ruled out of the IPL midway through the season owing to a finger injury. It did not surprise many when KXIP released him at the end of the season.

Once again, there was a bidding war when his name came up at the auction table in 2019. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders were the interested parties this time, and finally, KKR managed to bring him home for ₹4 crores.

The mere fact that he managed to play ahead of Kuldeep Yadav throughout the season speaks volumes about his exploits in the 2020 season. Chakravarthy picked up 17 wickets from 13 matches while going at under 7 runs an over.

This also included a five-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals. On the back of this season, he was selected for the Indian T20I squad for New Zealand. However, he had to later be ruled out due to a shoulder injury.

4. Sam Curran

Sam Curran was revelations in this IPL and contributed with both bat and ball [iplt20.com]

The Kings XI Punjab picked up English all-rounder Sam Curran ahead of IPL 2019 on the back of his performances against a touring Indian side. The season started well for him with a quickfire 20 runs as the opener and a hat-trick in just his second match.

He also scored a 23-ball half-century against the Kolkata Knight Riders, but the rest of the season wasn’t as great as the start. Curran was in and out of the side after some inconsistent performances, and the southpaw scored just 20 more runs in the rest of the season.

He also went at nearly 10 runs-an-over in the season, while picking up just 10 wickets including the hat-trick. KXIP released Curran at the end of the season.

Chennai Super Kings bought the 22-year-old for ₹5.5 crores at the IPL auction last year. His fortunes seem to have changed as he played all the 14 matches for CSK this season and was one of their most consistent players.

The young Englishman started lower down the order and subsequently was tried at the top of the order as well to help give the team a quicker start. Curran scored 186 runs from 11 innings at a strike rate of 131.91.

The left-arm pacer made some crucial breakthroughs throughout the season with the ball, picking 13 wickets at an economy of just over 8 runs-an-over.

When your classes are all virtual and you can't take a rain holiday... 🌧️ #ChennaiRains #WhistlePodu #Yellove pic.twitter.com/ryIDlqDaJE

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) November 7, 2020

3. Marcus Stoinis

Marcus Stoinis contributed with both bat and ball as Delhi made the IPL 2020 final [iplt20.com]

Marcus Stoinis played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2019 IPL season. He played his part with the bat, but his bowling was all over the place. The Australian all-rounder scored 211 runs from 10 matches at a strike rate of 135, but he scalped only two wickets with the ball.

The management was probably expecting much more in both departments, and did not end up retaining him in the squad after the 2019 season.

Stoinis managed to turn things around after the Delhi Capitals picked him up in the mini-auction for ₹4.8 crores. His hard-hitting ability in the middle order, and his bowling in the middle and the death overs were a major boost for DC in the end.

The 31-year-old played all 17 matches for his franchise, and scored 352 runs at a strike rate of 148.52. He also picked up 13 wickets at an average of 21.77. Stoinis was also one of the best performers among foreign players throughout IPL 2020.

2. Shimron Hetmyer

The rate of scoring of Shimron Hetmyer was crucial at times for DC in the middle [iplt20.com]

West Indian batsman Shimron Hetmyer was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of IPL 2019 for ₹4.2 crores. However, he could not get too many games in RCB's star-studded batting line-up.

He played just five matches and scored 90 runs, including a 75-run knock against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Thus, it came as no surprise when he was released by the management right after the season.

But even after a below-par IPL 2019, he still fetched a lot of money in the latest auction as the Delhi Capitals bought him up for ₹7.75 crores. While Hetmyer could not meet his potential this season, he still managed to score some useful runs for his franchise.

The 23-year-old played 12 matches this season aggregating 185 runs at a strike rate of 148. His best knock came against Rajasthan Royals when he scored 45 runs off just 24 balls.

There's a reason why he rhymes with admire 🔥Smashin' hits 😍Priceless humour 😁That banter with Sams 😌 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, @SHetmyer 💙#Dream11IPL #YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/oI7fXkiIKc

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) November 13, 2020

1. Chris Morris

The impact of Chris Morris for RCB in this IPL was something more than the numbers [iplt20.com]

South African all-rounder Chris Morris was part of the Delhi franchise since IPL 2016. After a good start for Delhi in the first couple of seasons, things started to fall apart.

Morris played just four matches in the 2018 season, picking up just 3 wickets. 2019 was a little better for the Protean, playing 9 matches and picking up 13 wickets.

However, he was really expensive throughout going at more than 9-an-over. His returns with the bat were also not the greatest either, scoring just 32 runs at an average of 5.33.

The Delhi Capitals released the 33-year-old on the back of these poor seasons. The fact that the pitch at Feroz Shah Kotla may not have been conducive to his style of play might also have contributed to this decision.

Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore were looking for a fast-bowling all-rounder, and they bought Chris Morris in the mini-auction for ₹10 crores. Unfortunately, he missed the first few matches of the season due to an injury.

Once he was passed fit and was included in the playing eleven, Morris made an immediate impact with a quickfire 25 on his first outing with the bat and a three-fer in his first effort of the season with the ball.

Even though he could not contribute much more with the bat, he picked up 11 wickets in the 9 matches that he played. And more than these numbers, it is important to look at his economy rate of 6.6 to understand what he brought to the side. It is not at all easy to maintain such an economy rate when you have to bowl in the powerplay and at the death.