Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)
The past few days has been hectic with cricket being played around the world such as India and Australia locking horns in the battle for the World Test Championship, Pakistan playing one-day internationals in Zimbabwe and down to the shortest format in a T10 league in Abu Dhabi. Yet, the focus remained on an auction to buy and sell players for the richest tournament in the cricket world, the Indian Premier League, played over 20 overs in India.
🚨 BIG MONEY MOVES OF IPL AUCTION! 💰
— IPLnCricket: Everything about Cricket (@IPLnCricket) November 26, 2024
- Here are the TOP 10 most expensive buys! 🔥
- Numbers that shook the auction room 📊
Historic numbers in IPL history! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/VvgD0bth50
Ten Indian Premier League teams spent nearly $75.72 million (Dh277.9m) to buy 182 players in the two-day auction that concluded in unfamiliar settings of Jeddah.
The past two seasonal auctions have now been held overseas, so as to provide a change in scenery for the team managements before the tournament is held in India around April-May. Last year’s auction was held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
Of the international players from the pool of 182, as many as 19 players got picked up from the lot which is playing at the Abu Dhabi T10, a tournament which has tested even the best of the T20 specialists as they hone their skills at franchise leagues around the world.
Jos Buttler, who became the richest foreign buy when Gujarat Titans picked up the England wicketkeeper-batsman-captain for $1.87 million, is playing for Deccan Gladiators in the Emirate, where 10 teams are locked in a bid for title in the eighth season of the tournament.
New Zealand’s bowler veteran Trent Boult, the third-costliest foreign player at the IPL auction, is also playing his wares at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Some teams were understandably happy to let their players share their reactions to the media while some opted to shut doors as they keep their intense focus on winning the tournament.
Buttler’s teammate at the Gladiators, Marcus Stoinis was heading out to the field to play against Abu Dhabi T10 champions New York Strikers when news broke of his selection for Punjab Kings in the IPL for a price of $1.3m.
“I fortunately just got to see as I was going on to the field,” Stoinis said after the match which Gladiators won by 68 runs.
Congratulations Morrisville Samp Army 🙌
— T10 Global (@T10League) November 26, 2024
They’re the first team to qualify for the 2024 #AbuDhabiT10 playoffs 🤝#ADT10 #CricketsFastestFormat #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/sQ4eTWAHrE
“IPL Auctions are always chaos. As a player you never know where you are going to end up. It is very lucky for me to end up with Punjab Kings under head coach Ricky Ponting. That is super exciting. I have not checked my phone, I have not spoken to anyone yet. But I could really not be happier.”
The Australian all-rounder Stoinis is enjoying his stint in T10, garnering key partnerships with Buttler lower down the middle order. All-rounders attract more value at auctions and drafts.
“I am prepared to bowl anytime. I think, with the bat, depends on the situation. I think that’s probably fortunate as an allrounder to thinking how the batter might be thinking. It’s not too hard to adjust,” he added.
