Bidding for the best

IPL is a fascinating league not just in terms of sport but also in terms of commerce — both carrying their own set of intrigue. With mega auctions proceeding for the coming season, the interplay between the sporting and commercial aspects of the game has come out in its full vigour. Marquee players will stand a chance to justify their worth as the IPL season is set to begin in April 2022 but, before that, the team managers of different franchises are up with their skills to amass the best pool of talent with the limited purse they have. One of the positive sides of the IPL auctions is that players, irrespective of their nationality or stage of their career, get rewarded purely on the basis of their talent and utility in the short format game. Managers also do figure in their resilience and ability to fight back in difficult situations. The ability, rather than just the name, appears to be rewarded here. The franchises faltering from this course are likely to suffer in any given season. This is evident in the final bidding price of players like Ishan Kishan, Deepak Chahar, Avesh Khan etc. They are being rewarded way above many top-ranked established cricketers. Since it's all about results in terms of money and prestige, franchises have a keen eye on emerging talents across the world — providing them a ready platform to showcase their prowess on a global stage. South Africa's Dewald Brevis is an example in case. The U19 cricketer — called by many as Baby AB de Villiers — is sold to Mumbai Indians for a whopping sum of three crore. In fact, he was the first player after Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan to be locked for the team. Mumbai initially tread very cautiously with its purse — seeking out potential players at affordable prices. Tilak Verma, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Basil Thampi etc. were the initial gains for the franchise on the second day of the auctions. Several of these 'low-ticket' names were unheard of until now, yet, they were keenly watched for. Perhaps Mumbai was also saving for the dangerous Jofra Archer. The duo of Bumrah and Archer could literally spell a dread for any batter in the world. However, there is some uncertainty over his participation in the current season. Interestingly, Mumbai Indians also bought Singapore's Tim David for a big sum of Rs 8.25 crores. He has played just a single match in IPL for RCB in 2021 season but has an excellent record in other premier leagues across the world. Where on the first day Ishan Kishan ruled the roost, second day's top bid was allrounder Liam Livingstone who was sold to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 11.5 crore — way above his base price of one crore. Punjab also spent lavishly for Odean Smith, buying him for Rs 6 crore above the base price of Rs 50 lakh. In fact, franchises have decided to spend big on all-rounders in general. While Gujrat Titans bought four all-rounders — Dominic Drakes (1.10 crore), Jayant Yadav (1.70 crore), Vijay Shankar (1.40 crore) and Darshan Nalkande (20 lakh) — Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings too bought three allrounders each. The all-rounders — including Yash Dhull — bought by Delhi Capitals were all below the eight-figure mark but Punjab spent in crores for each of them — the least being Raj Angad Bawa at Rs 2 crore. Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow SuperGiants and Chennai Super Kings also bought at least one all-rounder on the second day. Bowlers too fared well on the second day. The top bids among bowlers (after Jofra Archer) included Khaleel Ahmed (Rs 5.25 crore by Delhi Capitals), Chetan Sakariya (Rs 4.20 crore by Delhi Capitals) Navdeep Saini (2.60 crore by Rajasthan Royals) and Dushmanta Chameera (Rs 2 crore by Lucknow SuperGiants). Things didn't appear very good for the batters on the second day of the auction. The best that a batter could get was Rs 2.80 crore (Rovman Powell for Delhi Capitals) after Tim David. Of course, all the franchises bagged their batsmen on the first day of the auction — with many among them being wicket-keeper batsmen. But still it can be said that the current year auction is very much inclined towards all-rounders and bowlers as well. The romance of IPL is no more just about batsmen banging sixes after sixes. It has evolved a great deal where the sharp deliveries of bowlers are as much admired as anything else. There is a lot more for them in the league tournament than just their bowls being sent beyond the boundary lines by mighty batsmen. Moreover, going by the nature of cricket that varied formats demand today, franchises are looking for cricketers who can prove handy in all aspects of the game. The line of specialisation is reserved for only the best of bowlers and batsmen. With due acknowledgement to domestic cricket, IPL also needs to be praised for a lot of good it is doing to cricket. It represents altogether a different nature of cricket that has evolved in the present age. Let the franchises bring the best set of players for their respective teams by following different strategies. Players — old and new, Indians and foreigners — will certainly prove their mettle in April this year. It is indeed an interesting time for cricket as a whole.