IPL 2020: Best and Worst buys from the auction 

IPL 2020 Auction culminated last Thursday in Kolkata as all the eight IPL franchises covered up their respective loopholes with some new signings in the mini-auction. Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell emerged as the biggest winners of the auction as the Australians fetched massive deals from Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab, respectively.

The uncapped players like Varun Chakravarthy and Yashasvi Jaiswal too went for big money as the franchises showed massive interest in local talents as well. All in all, it was a pretty eventful auction as the event featured a lot of surprises. The unexpected names grabbed huge contracts while a few star players went unsold.

In this article, we will have a look at the best and worst buys from IPL Auction 2020.

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#1 Best - Lynnsanity heads to Wankhede

Chris Lynn will look to make the most out of the opportunity

Mumbai Indians struck gold when they signed the Australian opener Chris Lynn for just INR 2 Crore in the auction. The swashbuckling batsman was the first name to go under the hammer in Kolkata and much to everyone’s surprise, only Mumbai raised the paddle for him.

The defending champions already had the trio of Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock in contention for the two opening spots and now, Chris Lynn’s addition has stacked up their opening department. The flat wicket at the Wankhede Stadium is tailor-made for a batsman like Lynn hence, it will be intriguing to see whether Lynn can continue his fine form in IPL 2020.

He had played a match-winning role for the Maratha Arabians in T10 League 2019 and is leading Brisbane Heat from the front in Big Bash League 2019. Just yesterday, Lynn smashed 94 off just 34 balls against the Sydney Sixers. If this is the sign of things to come, the bowlers in the IPL better be prepared for a few sleepless nights.

#1 Worst - Mumbai Indians splurge INR 8 Crore for a back-up pacer

Nathan Coulter Nile will return to Mumbai Indians

While Mumbai Indians stole Chris Lynn at his base price in the auction, they astonished the fans by bidding aggressively for Lynn’s compatriot, Nathan Coulter-Nile. The right-arm fast bowler had impressed the cricket universe with his all-round brilliance in Cricket World Cup 2019. However, the Aussie has had an injury-prone career and has pulled out of IPL due to the same.

Mumbai and Chennai Super Kings fought a bidding war for him and, the defending champions grabbed his services with a bid of INR 8 Crore. One should note that Mumbai Indians did not need him in their squad because they already possess a star-studded pace bowling attack.

Jasprit Bumrah leads the attack which even features limited-overs specialists Lasith Malinga and Trent Boult. MI also traded in Dhawal Kulkarni as a backup for Bumrah while Mitchell McClenaghan would have played the backup role for the foreign pacers. Mumbai also have Sherfane Rutherford in their ranks.

Thus, it made little sense to go after Nathan Coulter-Nile in the auction and splurge a massive INR 8 crore for his services.

#2 Best - Kings XI Punjab sign one of the best foreign all-rounders at base price

James Neesham can turn the tables with his all-round ability

Anil Kumble is one of the shrewdest cricketing brains going around and he showed us just why at IPL Auction 2020. Kings XI Punjab appointed him as their head coach ahead of the 13th IPL season as a replacement for Mike Hesson. Kumble already had a lot of Karnataka stars in his team but Punjab needed a few foreign match-winners in their squad.

First, they bid aggressively for Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and signed him for ₹10.75 Crores. Since the right-handed batsman had been away from cricket for a while, the team management felt that they needed one more multi-dimensional player in their team.

New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham was expected to be a hot commodity in the auction especially after his incredible performances in the year 2019. He smartly kept his base price at a low INR 50 Lakh, which only enhanced his chances of earning a contract. His name came up in the second phase of the auction and the only team to submit a bid for him was Kings XI Punjab. His presence will provide balance to the playing XI of Punjab.

#2 Worst - Chennai Super Kings spend INR 6.75 Crore for Piyush Chawla

Piyush Chawla was released by Kolkata Knight Riders

Just like the case of Mumbai Indians and Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chennai Super Kings splurged a lot of money to sign a player who will be surplus to them. They had kept the quartet of Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner and Karn Sharma prior to the auction. Also, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been a permanent fixture in the team since he moved to the franchise. Chennai had every type of spin bowler in their squad yet they shelled out INR 6.75 Crore for another spinner.

Kolkata Knight Riders had released Piyush Chawla as he seemed to have lost his touch in the leg-spin department. The fans loved him for his wicket-taking abilities however, the batsmen had dominated him in the previous IPL seasons. Hence, no one predicted him to fetch such a big amount in the auction.

While Piyush will enjoy bowling at Chepauk, it is unlikely that the leggie will get a place in the team’s starting XI. Imran Tahir had won the Purple Cap in 2019 while Jadeja has been a regular in the Chennai lineup. The team management would pick one out of the remaining four spinners when they play in Chennai. Thus, this decision puzzled the fans.

#3 Best/Worst - Chris Morris for INR 10 Crore?

Chris Morris has not had a great year

South African all-rounder Chris Morris has been a big name in T20 cricket due to his big-hitting abilities and fast bowling. The Proteas star is one of the few players who can give the team 4 overs in every match and also use the long handle of the bat in the slog overs. His all-round talent played a key role in earning him a mega-contract this year.

The former Delhi Capitals star earned an INR 10 Crore contract from Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL Auction. Bangalore needed an all-rounder as they had let go Marcus Stoinis and Colin de Grandhomme and as a result, they had to break the bank to sign him.

The big problem here is Morris' current form. His IPL figures do not make for the greatest of reading. In 61 matches, he has scored only 517 runs and picked up 69 wickets at an economy rate of almost 8 runs per over. As players like James Neesham were present in the auction pool, Mike Hesson and co. could have played the waiting game and saved their funds for signing an in-form overseas all-rounder.

While Morris has the calibre to defy the odds and emerge as a star for RCB, it is quite possible that he could make way for other overseas players during the course of the tournament.