The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is approaching the end of the season. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings have already made it to the play-offs and every other team, apart from the Delhi Daredevils, have a chance to play the knockouts.
This year’s auction threw a few surprises, with teams letting go of players who had played with them for quite a number of seasons, in order to bring in fresh talent, a mixture of youth and experience, and a sport a new look.
A few such players have delivered laudable performances for their new franchisees.
For instance, the Mumbai Indians decided to let go of Ambati Rayudu, who played for them for eight seasons. In the ongoing season, Rayudu has done exceedingly well for the Chennai Super Kings with the bat, and stands fourth on the Orange Cap list.
Likewise, the Royal Challengers Bangalore did not retain or buy-back KL Rahul, who had been a rock at the top-order for them in the previous editions. This season, Rahul has been one of Kings XI Punjab’s top-scorers and is, presently, the third-highest run-getter in the competition.
The Super Kings and the Sunrisers have largely done well because their sides have the perfect blend of their old core players and some new players they bought in the auction.
Let’s look at the few players who were overlooked by their old franchisees during the auction, but have now delivered praiseworthy performances for their new teams.
Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu had been a part of the Mumbai Indians since the third edition of the IPL. He was a regular in the middle-order, and one of their most bankable batsmen. On many occasions, Rayudu was instrumental in bailing the team out of sticky situations. Playing for Mumbai, Rayudu scored 2,416 runs in 114 matches.
In the auction, the Mumbai Indians could not retain Ambati Rayudu or match his highest bid since they had already retained three capped Indian players: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya. However, they did have the option of bidding for Rayudu which they did, before opting out at Rs 1.6 crore. Ultimately, Rayudu was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings for Rs 2.2 crore.
Rayudu has enjoyed a dream run this season.
He has scored 535 runs at a stellar average of 48.63, with a century and two half-centuries under his belt. He has been a floater in CSK’s batting order, and has played as an opener, at number three, and at number four, and has been among the runs in all positions.
His performances as a floater in the batting order has given Chennai’s batting a certain solidarity and flexibility to experiment to zero in on their perfect combination.
The Mumbai Indians have had opening woes this season. While Suryakumar Yadav has been among the runs, Evin Lewis’ batting has been patchy and inconsistent.
Is Rayudu the opener Mumbai would have loved to have?
KL Rahul
KL Rahul was an important cog in the Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up for the last few seasons. He was one of the team’s top-scorers in 2016. The year the Royal Challengers made it to the finals of the tournament, in 14 matches, Rahul scored 397 runs at an average of 44.11.
The Royal Challengers would have certainly liked to retain Rahul during the auctions. However, after spending Rs 17 crore to retain skipper Virat Kohli, and Rs 11 crore to retain AB DeVilliers, their purse hardly allowed them to be indulgent. Hence, KL Rahul was beyond RCB’s budget.
KL Rahul was bought by the Kings XI Punjab for a whopping Rs 11 crore, in a closely fought bidding war against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Since then, Rahul has justified his price tag.
Rahul has scored 537 runs with a staggering average of 59.66. His performance includes five fifties and a top-score of unbeaten 95. More often than not, the Kings XI have batted around Rahul, who has been the sheet anchor as well as the aggressor.
Presently, the Royal Challengers’ top-order is struggling to find the perfect pair. With AB DeVilliers performing in patches and Virat Kohli not at his best, KL Rahul would have been the perfect piece to complete RCB’s batting puzzle.
Suryakumar Yadav
The flashy Suryakumar Yadav played for the Kolkata Knight Riders since the 2014 season. He came under the spotlight in the 2015 season against the Mumbai Indians when he scored a match-winning 20-ball 46, eclipsing Rohit Sharma’s 98 in the match. Since then, he batted in the middle-order for the Knight Riders and was best-known for his quick cameos, which usually came at the end of an innings.
Yadav was not retained by the Knight Riders, largely because there were others who assumed greater significance. However, his name did see aggressive bidding between the Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. Mumbai won the bidding war and snapped Yadav for Rs 3.20 crore, making him the highest paid uncapped player.
Yadav has been the lone bright spark in the Mumbai Indians batting. Mumbai gave him a new role of opening the batting and he has more than delivered for them.
He has top-scored for Mumbai with 473 runs at an average of 39.41 with four fifties, and stands sixth on the Orange Cap list. While the rest of the batting-order have not delivered their best, Yadav has been a steady scorer at the top-order. Suryakumar Yadav has been the lone consistent performer in Mumbai’s unsteady batting. Yadav remains key to the Mumbai Indians if the team is to make the playoffs.
Although, the Knight Riders’ top-order looks fairly settled, their middle-order, though experienced, has been shaky. Yadav’s consistency and flexibility to bat at any position would have been a bonus to the Knight Riders’ batting.
Shane Watson
An old-timer in the Rajasthan Royals team, Shane Watson was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore after the former was banned from the IPL for two-years. His contributions with the bat and ball have helped the Royals script their performances better over the years.
Watson, though not as consistent as he used to be, attracted competitive bidding during the auctions, especially from the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings. The Royals dropped out, and he was ultimately sold to CSK for Rs 4 crore.
Watson has enjoyed a good run in this year’s IPL. He has scored 424 runs at a strike-rate of 154.74 with a hundred and two fifties. He presently stands third on the Most Valuable Players’ list.
Watson and Rayudu’s opening pair has done wonders for Chennai. The two share a match-winning hundred-run stand and two fifty-run stands in the innings they have opened.
His experience and familiarity with the franchise would certainly have helped the Royals. Had the Rajasthan Royals gone that extra mile to buy back Watson, their campaign may have been very different from what it is.
Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle, an RCB old-timer, wasn’t retained or bought by any team during the first two rounds in the auction. While he has had the potential to play the big knocks, his performances have not been consistent enough. Hence, he may well have been overlooked by franchisees.
There is little fun in a T20 tournament without Chris Gayle. Hence, when he went unsold after the first two rounds in the auction, there was much despair among fans. However, the Kings XI Punjab, in what we can now call as a smart move, bought the ‘Universe Boss’ for his base price of Rs 2 crore. Gayle is sure to perform in at least a few games in any tournament. Thus, for Rs 2 crore, he was a steal for the Kings XI.
Gayle hasn’t disappointed fans or his team in this season.
In the eight innings he has played so far, Gayle has scored 332 runs, at an average of 55.33 and a strike rate of 147.55, which includes a top-score of unbeaten 104 and three half-centuries.
This season, he has almost been an unstoppable force. If the Kings XI make it through to the playoffs, they would surely want Gayle to fire the way he always does.
The Royal Challengers’ fans would surely have wanted to see Gayle rain those huge sixes in RCB clours.
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