New Delhi:
Pat Cummins created history in the IPL 2020 Player Auction held in Kolkata on Thursday as he was sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping Rs 15.5 crore. Cummins, whose base price was Rs 2 crore, was involved in an intense bidding war between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore as he went past the Rs 10 crore mark. However, Kolkata Knight Riders decided to jump in and then he was sold to the two-time IPL champions for Rs 15.5 crore. This is a new record for an overseas player in the history of the IPL as Cummins becomes the most expensive overseas buy by a franchise.
Cummins' mark of Rs 15.5 crore broke the previous record of Rs 14.5 crore set by Ben Stokes when he was taken by the Rising Pune Supergiant in the 2017 Indian Premier League. Subsequently, Stokes retained the record when he was taken for Rs 12.5 crore by Rajasthan Royals after the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise was disbanded. Cummins is the second-most expensive buy in the history of the IPL auction after Yuvraj Singh Rs 16 crore by Delhi Daredevils.
Speaking during the break, KKR CEO Venky Mysore said they were determined to get Cummins as he was a key player. The evening so far has belonged to the Australian and South African players with Glenn Maxwell and Chris Morris also doing well. Morris became the second player to enter the Rs 10 crore club after he was purchased by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Glenn Maxwell, who had taken a break from international cricket due to mental health issues, was sold to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 10.75 crore. Cummins was in the KKR side for the 2014 campaign which they won
Chris Lynn, who had a base price of Rs 2 crore, was the first player announced in the IPL Auction and he was sold to Mumbai Indians for his base price of Rs 2 crore while Eoin Morgan was the first big buy who went to the franchise as he was taken for Rs 5.25 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders. So far, Stuart Binny, Cheteshwar Pujara, Yusuf Pathan and Hanuma Vihari went unsold while Robin Uthappa, who had a base price of Rs 1.5 crore, went to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 3 crore.
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Sam Curran went to Chennai Super Kings for Rs 5.5 crore while Aaron Finch went to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 4.4 crore. Jason Roy was picked up by Delhi Capitals for Rs 1.5 crore while Chris Woakes also went to the franchise at the same price.
