IPL 2021 auction blog: RCB bid big for Jamieson and Maxwell, Morris creates history, Tendulkar to MI

Takeaway: It’s good to be an overseas pacer. And if (and it is a big if, and we perhaps say this every season) Hesson-Katich-Kohli can give Maxwell the freedom in the middle order and get the best out of him, it ticks a massive box in their check list. Stay tuned for more on Scroll.in. That will be all for the live blog, hope you enjoyed the coverage.

IPL 2021 Auction recap: Here is the full list of players signed up in the auction today!

TIME FOR A RECAP: Here are the top 10 buys of the auction today. Chris Morris is now the most expensive recruitment in the history of IPL auctions.

LAST FIVE PLAYERS, WE ARE TOLD:

Hanuma Vihari goes unsold at Rs 1 crore.

Venkatesh Iyer to KKR for Rs 20 lakh.

Pawan Negi to KKR for Rs 20 lakh.

Akash Singh (U19 World Cup) to Royals for Rs 20 lakh.

ARJUN TENDULKAR IS THE LAST NAME: HERE WE GO! He goes to Mumbai Indians!

8.00 pm: Harbhajan Singh to KKR and Kedar Jadhav to SRH are very interesting recruitments. The latter has a point to prove in this league and could be a good addition to the middle order for a lightweight SRH side. That’s one to watch out for. Bhajji to KKR is also interesting because the side could use a off-spin option.

BREAK: We are into the final phase. Some big names were recruited in that quickfire phase and we now have CSK, DC, PBKS (still not used to that), SRH who are done with their bids.

UNSOLD PLAYERS FROM EARLIER:

Ben Cutting goes to KKR for Rs 75 lakhs. (That’s a good one!)

UNSOLD PLAYERS FROM EARLIER:

Correction: Mujeeb to SRH for Rs 1.5 crore (Another Afghan player in the squad!)

HARBHAJAN SINGH TO KKR: For Rs 2 crore base price!

Hari Nishaant to CSK for Rs 20 lakh

UNSOLD PLAYERS FROM EARLIER:

Sam Billings to Delhi for Rs 2 crore

Mujeeb to SRH for Rs 2 crore (Another Afghan player in the squad!)

UNSOLD PLAYERS FROM EARLIER:

Karun Nair to KKR for base price Rs 50 lakhs

Kedar Jadhav to SRH for base price Rs 2 crore

Uncapped allrounders: Saurabh Kumar goes to Punjab Kings...

Uncapped: Marco Jansen to Mumbai Indians for base price of Rs 20 L. South African allrounder.

From someone who follows MI and domestic cricket closely...

Uncappped allrounders: MI get Yudhvir Charak and CSK get Bhagath Verma.

Mumbai Indians get James Neesham for base price Rs 50L: The defending champions get another overseas pace bowling option and it is James Neesham! Winners on and off the field for IPL 2021?

Update: No overseas slots left for RR, RCB, Punjab Kings and CSK

Uncapped players: Harishankar Reddy to CSK for Rs 20 lakhs. KS Bharat, Josh Inglis went unsold earlier.

Quick updates: Englishman Liam Livingstone returns to RR for his base price at Rs 75 lakhs (Read more about him here). Wade, McDermott, Abbott go unsold. As does Siddhesh Lad.

Dan Christian to RCB for Rs 4.8 crores: Hesson seems pleased.

DAN CHRISTIAN FINDS A TEAM: The serial winner of T20 leagues goes to RCB...

PUNJAB KINGS GET FABIAN ALLEN: There was a fist bump from Zinta and that is possibly one of the bargain decisions of the day.

Allrounders: Fabian Allen time! Punjab Kings get him.... well, well, well. That’s a really solid pick!

Accelerated auction: Punjab Kings get Jalaj Saxena for Rs 30 lakh.

7.20 pm: Here’s a look at where the squads stand, as we are ready for more bidding. Arjun Tendulkar is still to come, mind you.

Opinion: Cheteshwar Pujara has long been desperate to make a mark in white-ball cricket (smashed a century sometime back, 2019 SMAT). So, delighted for him. But frustrating if he’s going to just warm the bench at CSK (he likely will) and miss out on a possible red-ball stint elsewhere.

7.05 pm: Which selection has surprised you the most so far and why? Let us know on Twitter @thefield_in.

STORY SO FAR: Surprised to see CSK go big for Gowtham? He is a handy cricketer to have in the squad though and there has been a clear plan to account for Harbhajan Singh’s absence with two offspinners who can also bat. And Pujara, well well!

Preity Zinta on Star Sports: “The auction is not over, we still have a few buys pending. The bidding has been aggressive so far. When you have a big purse, you’re always wondering if other teams are trying to take the price up.”

Make of this what you will...

Gautam Gambhir: Absolutely shocked to see Umesh Yadav go for just Rs 1 crore.

END OF SESSION: Phew. That’s the end of bidding for now..There will now be a 45-minute break and the action will resume at 7.15 pm IST. Time for high tea!

Overseas pacers: Oshane Thomas, Billy Stanlake among the last group of pacers who go unsold. Earlier, Labuschagne did not find takers either. Entertainment missed.

Ben Cutting, somewhat surprisingly went unsold a while back.

Moises Henriques to Punjab Kings for Rs 4.2 crores: They finally, finally get an allrounder and clearly not their first choice. RCB pulled out at the end.

Moises Henriques: In all this mayhem, Punjab is yet to get their allrounder. They are going for Moises Henriques now and once again it is Karnataka vs Bangalore!

Tom Curran goes to Delhi, I can only think SRH got bored and raised the price for the Englishman.

TOM CURRAN: A rare appearance from SRH, surprisingly too given they already have Marsh and Holder. They are competing with Delhi. Punjab staying away.

Rassie van der Dussen, Martin Guptill, Pawan Negi went unsold earlier.

Kyle Jamieson goes to RCB for RS 15 crore: Mike Hesson, fellow Kiwi, is happy.

Kyle Jamieson: Karnataka vs Bangalore has taken the price up to Rs 15 crore!!!!

Kyle Jamieson: WOW. Rs 12.5 crore! For a breakout star. IPL auction dynamics in play again. Punjab missed Morris, so they are going hard for Jamieson. RCB not letting up.

Kyle Jamieson: Once again, it is PUNJAB vs RCB. Bengaluru lite vs Bengaluru if you will.

Kyle Jamieson time, folks: This is going to get busy now!

CHETESHWAR PUJARA IS BACK IN THE IPL: Chennai Super Kings pick him up for Rs 50 lakhs.

Capped batsmen next up: Rovman Powell, Shaun Marsh go unsold. As do Corey Anderson, Devon Conway.

One of the surprise stories of the day...

Back after a break...

Zaheer Khan about Mumbai Indians: “We have got exactly what we wanted so far. Delighted to have Nathan Coulter-Nile staying with us. We were keen on having Piyush Chawla’s experience, he can bowl with the new ball too. [About the auction] Good to see the bowlers in limelight, very happy to see that.”

BREAK: Well, this has got to be the moment of the auction!

Uncapped spinners: J Suchith goes to SRH, who I believe have made their first recruitment of the day, and K Cariappa (mystery spinner) went to RR.

M Siddharth goes to DC for his base price of Rs 20 lakhs. Delhi picking up quite a few Indian options.

SURPRISE BID: Australian right-arm pacer Riley Meredith (base price Rs 40 lakh) goes to Punjab Kings for Rs 8 crore! Delhi Capitals were in the race too but they couldn’t keep up with Punjab.

A good day for the players listed here by the way, so far:

IPL 2021 auction: Uncapped Indian players who made a mark at Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy

Riley Meredith was earmarked as a wildcard in our overseas pool preview. His bid is already up to Rs 3.4 crore! Punjab and Delhi at it.

Riley Meredith is getting a lot of interest. Punjab and Delhi in for the Aussie pacer.

Lukman Meriwala (DC) and Chetan Sakariya (RR) find bidders: Earmarked for their performances in SMAT 2021, the two uncapped players do generate interest. The former (left arm pacer) goes to DC for base price. There is more interest in Sakariya. The Vidarbha player goes to Royals for Rs 1.2 crore!

SACHIN AND AZHARUDDEEN TOGETHER: Well, that’s retro. Sachin Baby will be joined by his statemate Mohammed Azharuddeen at RCB.

Uncapped wicketkeepers: Watch out for Azharuddeen. Vishnu Vinod goes to DC.

CSK get K Gowtham: *quickly checks age* 32 years old. Of course!

Krishnappa Gowtham: WOW! It’s SRH vs CSK now and the allrounder has gone past Rs 8 crore.

K Gowtham is the next player to generate interest: SRH vs KKR.

Shahrukh Khan goes to Punjab Kings for Rs 5.25 crore: “We got Shahrukh,” says Preity Zinta with a big smile.

SHAHRUKH KHAN TO PBKS FOR RS 5.25 crore: RCB vs Punjab again and we are up to Rs 4.4 crore! The Tamil Nadu allrounder finally goes to.... Punjab Kings. RCB stopped at Rs 5 crore.

SHAHRUKH KHAN: We are already up to Rs 2 crore! RCB vs DC. (Camera pans to KKR table as Shahrukh Khan’s name comes up. Heh.)

Uncapped allrounders: Atith Seth goes unsold. Ripal Patel invites a bid from DC. Goes to the runners-up for Rs 20 lakh. SRK Time now!

Uncapped allrounders next: Watch out for Shahrukh Khan.

UNCAPPED PLAYERS: Sachin reunited with Virat! Kerala’s Sachin Baby goes to RCB for Rs 20 lakh, Rajat Patidar also to the franchise at base price. Vishnu Solanki surprisingly goes unsold.

UNCAPPED PLAYERS: Himanshu Rana unsold.

Break: Gautam Gambhir believes Mustafizur Rahman to RR is an “unbelievable buy”. The Royals got him for Rs 1 crore.

Five-minute break: Qais Ahmed goes unsold... Jhye Richardson was the start of that mini-phase in the mini-auction.

Piyush Chawla to Mumbai Indians for Rs 2.4 crore: The defending champs get a back-up wristspinner for Rahul Chahar presumably and its not a bad backup option to have.

IPL 2020 final repeat. MI vs DC for Piyush Chawla.

HARBHAJAN SINGH, TIME: The biggest name in the spinners (capped) category. Unsold now, alright, did not see that coming. But could come back later.

Capped spinners next: Adil Rashid, Rahul Sharma unsold.

UMESH YADAV TO DC: For Rs 1 crore. Sheldon Cottrell goes unsold.

Nathan Coulter Nile returns to MI: After getting for Rs 8 crore last season, MI bring the Aussie back for Rs 5 crore for IPL 2021. As their other pacers did not work out, this is another smart move.

JHYE RICHARDSON TO PUNJAB FOR RS 14 CRORE: Well, well, that’s another massive bid! It was a battle all the way to the end and it is PBKS who make their first big splash of the day.

About Jhye Richardson in our overseas pool preview: “Richardson, however, maintained a bowling average of 14.6 in the BBL and an economy of 6.22 and 8.02 in the powerplay and death respectively. These numbers are easily clear of the league average, making him a top prospect. With Mitchell Starc not in the fray, he is the best top-tail bowler in the auction pool.”

Jhye Richardson: It’s now PBKS vs RCB. Up to Rs 9 crore.

One of the tweets of the day so far...

Jhye Richardson: Plenty of interest as quite a few had predicted. RCB leading the charge, with DC joining in.

Jhye Richardson, time: Brace yourself, folks.

PACERS: The first of the pacers to join MI today is Adam Milne for Rs 3.2 crore. As usual, shrewd from MI. The Fizz Rehman goes to RR for his base price of Rs 1 crore.

CAPPED PACERS: This is going to get busy... Adam Milne first and it’s a tussle between RR and MI.

No capped wicketkeepers find a team. And it’s now time for pacers, where almost every team will have big interest.

WICKETKEEPERS: We are back for the next phase of the auction. Starting with wicketkeepers. The NZ wicketkeeper bat Glenn Phillips goes unsold as well as Alex Carey.

Mike Hesson on RCB’s bid for Glenn Maxwell: “He’s a multi-skilled player. He’s been in good touch away from the IPL. We were looking for an X-factor player for the middle order. Delighted to have him.”

The story of that first session was, without doubt, Chris Morris and Glenn Maxwell:

DAWID MALAN: In the final piece of action before the break, England batsman Dawid Malan goes to Punjab Kings for Rs 1.5 crore. The world’s top-ranked batsman will ply his trade at the top of the order for Punjab.

It’s a small break, phew! Chris Morris receives the highest bid of all time in IPL Auction. Goes to RR for Rs 16.25 crore.

Chris Morris, HISTORY-MAKER: Chris Morris goes big again.

IPL 2020: RCB bid Rs 10 crore and released him.
IPL 2021: RCB went up to Rs 9.75 crore and just stopped short of matching that Rs 10 crore.
But it’s a battle between MI, RR and PBKS and Chris Morris goes to Royals.

#IPLAuction

CHRIS MORRIS WILL BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE OVERSEAS PLAYER: Pat Cummins move aside. We are up to Rs 16 crore for Punjab Kings and RR keep going.

CHRIS MORRIS: And Punjab Kings join in late. It’s them vs RR now. Up to Rs 14 crore.

CHRIS MORRIS: The defending champs really do want Morris badly! Gone up to Rs 13 crore. But RR not letting go either. And Punjab Kings join in late.

CHRIS MORRIS: RCB have decided not to pay more than last time (10 cr). But RR have joined in late. MI have it at Rs 11 cr now.

CHRIS MORRIS: Went to RCB, IPL 2020: rs 10 crore. Now, RCB went up to Rs 8.75 crore. And make that 9.25 too. MI not letting go.

CHRIS MORRIS TIME! And it is time to welcome Mumbai Indians to the a(u)ction. RCB are going for him AGAIN. Why release, eh?

SHIVAM DUBE TO RR: Not surprisingly, Royals get a middle-order batsman and the allrounder they were looking for. A good recruitment at Rs 4.4 crore.

SHIVAM DUBE: Another player predicted to go for a big bid. RR and SRH are in the race early and we are upto Rs 3 cr.

MOEEN ALI TO CSK FOR Rs 7 crore: Well, well. Another 30-plus joins the Dad’s Army. The 33-year-old Moeen Ali is a shrewd buy by Chennai, though. One of the many predicted bids before the auction. He will suit them to the T.

Moeen Ali: CSK have been very active in this auction at the start, and have gone up to Rs 6 crore for Moeen Ali along with Punjab.

Moeen Ali: After his impressive outing for England in Chennai (a cameo, yes) Moeen Ali is now on CSK’s radar. Punjab Kings the other team interested.

Shakib Al Hasan: The Bangladesh returns to KKR. A benign bidding war between KKR and Punjab, the former get their allrounder back after a while.

Kedar Jadhav: UNSOLD. Next up, Shakib.

GLENN MAXWELL TO RCB FOR RS 14.25 CRORE: This is just incredible. Recruited by KXIP at the 2020 auction for Rs 10.75 crore, had a poor season (not a single six hit), got released by his franchise, and has now attracted an even higher bid. The Glenn Maxwell-IPL auction love story continues. Goes to RCB for Rs 14.25 crores.

Glenn Maxwell: Rs 13.50 crores. Still RCB vs CSK. Incredible scenes.

Glenn Maxwell: We are still going! The price is up to Rs 12.50 crore and RCB have it at the moment... CSK are thinking...

Glenn Maxwell: we are up to Rs 10.50 crore and RCB shoot back with Rs 10.75 crore, his price at last auction. And he’s crossed that too.

Glenn Maxwell: RCB have gone upto Rs 9.25 crore now! Wow, wow.

Bidding in earnest for Maxwell. Just another day in the IPL auctions! KKR vs RCB first. Now, CSK vs RCB! KKR have pulled out and it is now Chennai and Bangalore going after the Aussie star. Already upto Rs 6.5 crore!

Karun Nair: Unsold
Alex Hales: Unsold
Jason Roy: Unsold
Evin Lewis: unsold
Aaron Finch: unsold
Hanuma Vihari: unsold

— First set of batsmen

Glenn Maxwell time! KKR start off the bidding. RR join in.

Well, that’s a surprise alright: STEVE SMITH TO DELHI. For a price of Rs 2.2 crore. It looked like Virat Kohli and Steve Smith could come together at RCB, but Ricky Ponting’s Delhi is where Smith will be playing this season. Late bid from DC.

STEVE SMITH: Delhi Capitals go for Smith late on. Rs 2.2 crore. And he goes to Delhi!

Capped batsmen: Here we go, Steve Smith. RCB start off.

Capped batsmen, Jason Roy: Base price Rs 2 crore. Goes unsold, too. Well, that’s dull.

Capped batsmen, Alex Hales: Base price Rs 1.50 crore. Man in form. Goes unsold for now.

Right, here we go. Capped batsmen first up. Karun Nair is the first name. He goes unsold.

3.08 pm: The auction begins with the announcement that VIVO is back on board as the title sponsor for the 14th season, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel says “welcome back team VIVO.” He also adds it is likely fans will be part of the tournament this season.

3.02 pm: Not for the first time Punjab will be the busiest team (in terms of the funds they have). It is perhaps the confidence of having the largest purse for the auction, but KL Rahul was frank in assessing where his squad stood.

“It’s been quite obvious in the last three seasons that we have missed somebody in the middle order who can close out games, win games for us in the middle [order]. Someone who bowls fast is always exciting and quite a weapon to have in the team, so these are the two things we really missed (or had them in the team who couldn’t quite come good),” captain Rahul said, offering insights into the team’s strategy while announcing the rebranding.

3.00 pm: So, CSK folks are wearing a “Definitely Not” tshirt for the IPL auction. We will just leave it at that.

2.53 pm: Punjab Kings have the most funds to recruit, RCB have the most slots left to fill.

2.52pm: Will Glenn Maxwell once again trigger a bidding war? That seems to be the sentiment, after he was released by KXIP on the back of a disappointing season.

2.45 pm: CSK fans, do you want to see Steve Smith join hands with MS Dhoni? KXIP fans, are you used to #PBKS yet? RCB fans, is this your year? Let us know how you are feeling ahead of the auction on Twitter, tagging @thefield_in.

Here’s a breakdown of the auction list, but the final list is a bit different to this one. The IPL website has listed 298 players.

Hello everyone and welcome to live updates from the auction for the 2021 Indian Premier League.

Ahead of the 14th edition of the tournament, there is a mini auction. Franchises are set for another short-term recruitment drive. With no new teams added to the league, the eight existing franchises were given the chance to retain the bulk of their squad. And so, a maximum of 61 slots spread across teams are to be filled up during the IPL 2021 auction, to be held in Chennai. The tournament is expected to be played in India (not confirmed yet), starting from April.

Rs 2 crore is the highest reserve price and two Indian players – Harbhajan Singh and Kedar Jadhav – and seven overseas players – Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Shakib Al Hasan, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy have chosen to be slotted in the highest bracket. Mark Wood pulled out from the auction on the day before. Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim has been added to the auction in the wicketkeeper category at a base price of Rs 1 crore.