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IPL 2021 Auction: One Player Each Time Bid For But Could Not Sign

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Glenn Maxwell and Shahrukh Khan
Photo Source: Twitter

IPL 2021 Auctions were a momentous affair. Despite having very few star-players in the pool, the auctions managed to extract record-breaking bids from the franchises. The event also gave us the costliest-bid ever made in the history of IPL. South African all-rounder Chris Morris went to Rajasthan Royals for INR 16.25 crores, thus overtaking the record held by Yuvraj Singh till then.

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It is natural to miss out on your targets in an auction. The auction dynamics work that way, and this is an inevitable part of the process. In the recent auctions too, we saw franchises targeting a few players but not being able to eventually sign them. We talk about one such instance for each team in this article.

Chennai Super Kings – Glenn Maxwell

Despite having just around INR 20 crores in their purse, CSK went up to INR 14 crores in pursuit of Glenn Maxwell. However, RCB were equally in the necessity of the Aussie, and hence, Maxwell went the Bangalore way. CSK then purchased Moeen Ali and K Gowtham to round off their IPL 2021 Auctions.

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Delhi Capitals – Riley Meredith

Delhi Capitals went hard for the services of uncapped pacer Riley Meredith. The Aussie bowls some serious pace, and DC felt he would be a nice addition to the bowling group. However, PBKS also had similar ideas and made the winning bid for the player. Delhi then signed Tom Curran instead of Riley.

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Kolkata Knight Riders – K Gowtham

K Gowtham
Photo: K Gowtham/Instagram

KKR required a traditional right-arm off-spin option in their ranks. Hence, they went for K Gowtham, who would have also come with neat big-hitting skills. At the end of the auction, KKR put an end to their search by hiring veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Mumbai Indians – Chris Morris

Mumbai Indians needed a foreign pacer, after releasing four of them before the auctions. As soon as Morris’s name came up, Mumbai Indians were in for a fight. However, being low on purse, the defending champions ultimately had to give up. Nevertheless, MI did make the signings of Adam Milne and NCN later on.

Punjab Kings – Shakib Al Hasan

All-rounders and experienced spinners were required at PBKS before the auctions. Shakib Al Hasan is one player who could have filled both roles and hence, the KL Rahul-led side made the move for him. When the amount started rising, PBKS backed away and let KKR purchase the player.

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Rajasthan Royals – Glenn Maxwell

Courtesy of their decent purse, Rajasthan Royals got hold of most of their targets. However, they still had to fill the vacancy left by Steve Smith and initially bid for Glenn Maxwell. They retreated early and left it to CSK and RCB to fight for the player. Near the close of the day, RR signed Liam Livingstone to shore up their batting reserves.

Royal Challengers Bangalore – Shahrukh Khan

It was clear that RCB required reinforcement in the middle-order area. While Glenn Maxwell helped them to an extent, there was an Indian who was needed as well. Hence, they went quite far ahead to rope in Shahrukh Khan, which eventually did not materialize. Punjab Kings won the bid for the Tamil Nadu player.

Sunrisers Hyderabad – Shivam Dube

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s problem of misfiring middle-order needed to have found a solution in the auctions. Therefore, they went for Shivam Dube, a player who could have solved the problems. The price was too high for them, and finally, SRH settled for Kedar Jadhav at the end of the auctions.