Pat Cummins to Sheldon Cottrell: Five costliest players in IPL 2020 auction

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 auction was concluded, with 62 players sold to eight IPL teams in Kolkata on Thursday. The Australia cricket team's pace spearhead Pat Cummins has emerged the most expensive player in the IPL 2020 auction. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) grabbed him for jaw-dropping Rs 15.5 crore, making him the most expensive overseas player in IPL history. The Australians were the most sought after by the franchises, with three of the five most expensive coming from Down Under in the IPL 2020 auction.

Here are the top five most expensive players in IPL 2020 auction:

Pat Cummins, Australia cricket team

IPL 2020 team: Kolkata Knight Riders

IPL Salary: Rs 15.5 cr

In the IPL 2020 auction, Pat Cummins emerged as the most expensive player. With Rs 15.5 crore IPL salary, he surged past Ben Stokes to become the most expensive foreign player in IPL history. During the 2017 IPL auction, Stokes had been bought by Rajasthan Royals (RR) for Rs 14.5 crore. The stakes for Cummins surged after Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) were locked in a bidding war and the bid price exceeded 15-crore mark when KKR entered into the scene and clinched the Australian spearhead for Rs 15.5 crore. After an average last season, KKR was in desperate need of a genuine fast bowler who could deliver in both, powerplay and death overs, and given Cummins' recent form, he is likely to live up to expectations.

Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell, Australia

IPL 2020 team: Kings XI Punjab

IPL Salary: Rs 10.75 crore

Maxwell is regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen in limited-overs cricket and KXIP has bagged him for Rs 10.75 crore at IPL 2020 auction. With Maxwell in, the Chandigarh-based franchise has a squad with firepower at the top in Chris Gayle and K L Rahul, and impact players like Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran in the middle order, who can go hammer and tongs in the death overs. However, Maxwell's form would be in question as he is returning from a six-month break, after being out of the circuit due to what he called his 'mental illness'.

Chris Morris, South Africa cricket team

IPL 2020 team: Royal Challengers Bangalore

IPL Salary: Rs 10 crore

The Virat Kohli-led RCB has been desperately searching for an all-rounder lower down the order to finish the innings as the top-order already has big players in AB de Villers, Aaron Finch and Parthiv Patel.

South African all-rounder Chris Morris, who is the best buy for the Bangalore-based franchise in the IPL 2020 auction, can bring depth to the batting order and can also chip in with ball during powerplay and death overs. Last season, Morris played for Delhi Capitals but had an average 2019 IPL on a slow and Sticky Kotla wicket. In the nine matches played last season, he scored just 32 runs at a strike rate of 86.48, and took 13 wickets in as many matches at an average of 23.53, conceding 9.27 runs per over. Overall, he has accumulated 517 runs in IPL tournaments at an average of 27.21, with a strike rate of 157.62. In the bowling department, he has 69 wickets to his name, conceding 7.98 runs per over.

Sheldon Cottrell celebrates in his usual style after taking a wicket

Sheldon Cottrell, Windies cricket team
 

IPL 2020 team: Kings XI Punjab

IPL Salary: Rs 8.5 crore

Caribbean left-arm pacer Cottrell is known for his wicket-taking capabilities in the powerplay and middle orders, along with a signature salute celebration. The Punjab-based franchise needed a genuine fast bowler to dictate the proceeding after they released Andrew Tye and Sam Curran ahead of the IPL 2020 auction. This is going to be Cottrell's first season in 12 editions of IPL and he would look to make an impression in the world's richest cricket league.

Nathan Coulter-Nile, Australia

IPL 2020 team: Mumbai Indians

IPL Salary: Rs 8 crore

Australian all-rounder Nathan Coulter-Nile was bought by defending champions Mumbai Indians for a staggering Rs 8 crore. MI was locked in an intense battle with last season’s runner-up Chennai Super Kings and had to shell out a substantial amount of money to finally grab the Aussie. Coulter-Nile has been a consistent performer for the national team and continued his form in the domestic circuit too. Coulter-Nile was part of then Delhi Daredevils’ (now Delhi Capitals) in 2017 and took 15 wickets at an average of 15.20, conceding 8.04 runs per over. Overall, he has scalped 36 wickets at an average of 19.97 with an economy rate of 7.66.