IPL 2021 auction: The event that saw four Rs 10 crore buys

The IPL 2021 auction saw some record-breaking buys as the majority of the eight The IPL 2021 auction created plenty of records on February 18 in Chennai. The event saw one player become the most expensive buy in IPL auction history while some big players became bargain buys. The event saw four players breaching the Rs 10 crore mark and it was the first time ever that this feat has happened in the IPL auction. In this auction, it was South Africa pacer Chris Morris who fetched a record Rs 16.25 crore for Rajasthan Royals.

Morris’ tally of Rs 16.25 crore is the highest-ever for a player in the auction, beating the mark of Rs 16 crore by Yuvraj Singh in IPL 2015 by Delhi Daredevils. It is the most expensive foreign buy, beating the mark of Pat Cummins’ Rs 15.5 crore when Kolkata Knight Riders acquired him in IPL 2020. The numbers amassed by Morris are truly incredible.

According to one write-up in Cricbuzz, Morris’ sum can secure Covid-19 vaccines for more than 222,000 people in South Africa. It can pay South Africa’s minimum wage to someone working eight hours a day, seven days a week for more than 500 years. It can pay the bill for 270,000 inexpensive restaurant meals. The amount of Rs 16.25 crore can buy more than 474,000 large Big Macs. It can also buy 2.1-million litres of milk, 2.3-million loaves of bread or more than 12-million eggs. Morris will be earning more than the winner of the Australian Open Tennis tournament.

Other massive buys

The next massive acquisition was Kyle Jamieson of New Zealand. In the last three series, Jamieson has been the perfect foil for Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner. His all-round skill has been simply amazing in his short career. Jamieson was sold for Rs 15 crore, which is the best ever for a New Zealand player in the auction. Trent Boult was bought for Rs 5 crore by Mumbai Indians.

Glenn Maxwell managed to breach the Rs 10 crore mark by going to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 14.25 crore. In the previous auction, he had earned Rs 10.75 crore for Kings XI Punjab. The other major surprise was Australia bowler Jhye Richardson. The right-arm pacer dismissed Virat Kohli all three times in the 2019 ODI series. After a injury hiatus, Richardson went to Punjab Kings for Rs 14 crore. For the first time, four players got in excess of Rs 10 crore in one auction event.

Benefits for Indian players

The IPL 2021 auction was beneficial even for uncapped players. Krishnappa Gowtham went for Rs 9.25 crore by Chennai Super Kings. This made him the most expensive uncapped Indian ever. The tally surpassed the previous record set by Varun Chakravarthy who was taken by Punjab Kings for Rs 8.4 crore.

For an overseas uncapped player, Riley Meredith went for Rs 8 crore to Punjab Kings. Mohammad Shahrukh Khan was picked for Rs 5.25 crore by Punjab Kings. This made value 46 times and 26 times over their base price of Rs 20 lakh.

The IPL 2021 auction showed that franchises have massive money to show. Now, it is upto the players as to whether they can live up to their big billing.