Morris becomes most expensive signing in IPL auction history

Chris Morris became the most expensive signing in IPL history on Thursday (February 18) with Rajasthan Royals forking out INR 16.25 crores for the South African all-rounder at the 2021 auction. The signing amount surpassed the INR 16 crore that Delhi Daredevils paid for Yuvraj Singh in 2015 - the previous record for a player signed at the auction.

The Royals entered the bid battle only at INR 10.25 crore mark after Mumbai Indians appeared to have wrested Morris from his previous employer - Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Jaipur franchise had to contend with another late bidder - the Punjab Kings - who entered at INR 13.50 crores and went all the way until INR 16 crores before pulling out.

The 33-year-old Morris has previously been a part of Rajasthan Royals, in the 2015 season when he scored 311 runs and took 13 wickets from 11 games. In all, he has played 70 IPL games and scored 551 runs at a strike-rate of 157.88 and taken 80 wickets at an economy of 7.81. Morris was an integral member of the RCB side last season even though an abdominal injury curtailed his participation to nine games. He took 11 wickets at an economy of 6.63. He hasn't played competitive cricket since.

Before Morris added an INR 6.25 crores increment to his last year's salary and shattered records along the way, Glenn Maxwell's reputation got him a pay raise as RCB won a protracted bidding war with Chennai Super Kings to sign the swashbuckling batsman for INR 14.25 crores. The signing amount was more than INR 3 crores more than what the Australian earned (INR 10.75 cr) from Punjab Kings last season.

Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals began the bidding for Maxwell's services but very soon it became apparent that the profile of the player was in line with the all-rounder deficiency in the RCB and CSK squads. This will be Maxwell's fourth different franchise in the IPL, having previously played for the Mumbai, Punjab and Delhi franchises.

While Maxwell is an integral member of Australia's T20I squad, used regularly in the Top-4, he has blown hot and cold in the IPL. His tally of 552 runs at 187.75 SR was instrumental in Punjab's run to the final of the 2014 season. But subsequent seasons have seen his output drop substantially. Having returned to Punjab last year, he managed a total of 108 runs from 13 games, failing to hit a single six along the way.

Having lost out one of their primary targets, CSK saw off Punjab's challenge to sign former RCB all-rounder Moeen Ali for INR 7 crore to fill up their only vacant overseas slot.

Jamieson, Jhye Richardson lead demand for fast bowlers

The rechristened Punjab Kings who lost out in their attempts to sign all-rounders Morris and Moeen, also failed in their earnest attempts to sign the 6'8" New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson. This time RCB pipped them to the post with a winning bid of INR 15 crores, the second-highest signing amount of the day. Jamieson, who had a breakthrough series against India in early 2020, continued to make progress across formats and was offered a T20I debut in the series against West Indies late last year. In 38 T20s, Jamieson has 54 wickets at an economy of 7.98.

Punjab did make use of their substantial purse (INR 53.2 cr before today) to land their targets when they signed Australian fast bowler Jhye Richardson for a whopping INR 14 crores. Richardson was a key part of Perth Scorchers' run to the Big Bash League final this year, taking 29 wickets from 17 games at an excellent economy of 7.69. Given his death-bowling prowess, Richardson was also solicited by RCB before they pulled the plug on their chase and turned their attention to Jamieson.

Punjab also added another BBL star, Riley Meredith, for INR 8 crores after an intense battle with Delhi Capitals. The 24-year-old turned eyes with his raw pace bowling in the PowerPlay for Hobart Hurricanes this season, finishing with 16 wickets from 13 games at an economy of 7.82.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians too expectedly shopped in the overseas fast bowlers' market, re-signing Nathan Coulter-Nile for INR 5 crores (down from INR 8 crores) and also adding New Zealand speedster Adam Milne for INR 3.2 crores. Rajasthan Royals picked up Mustafizur Rahman at his base price of INR 1 crore while Delhi Capitals snapped up Tom Curran and Umesh Yadav for INR 5.25 crores and INR 1 crore respectively.

Domestic finishers break the bank

Krishnappa Gowtham became the highest-earning uncapped player in IPL auction history after CSK signed him for INR 9.25 crore adding an off-spinner and lower-order batting smarts in the process. Gowtham played only two games for Punjab last season and picked up a solitary wicket. His best season came for the Rajasthan Royals in 2018, when he finished with 11 wickets and also struck at a rate of 196.87 during his brief cameos lower down the order.

Shahrukh Khan, who went unsold at the last auction, found his first IPL home at Punjab, who staved off competition from RCB and Delhi Capitals, to land the Tamil Nadu finisher for INR 5.25 crores. Shahrukh, 25, gave a glimpse of his abilities in this year's Syed Mushtaq Ali quarter final fixture against Himachal Pradesh, slamming an unbeaten 19-ball 40 after TN were reduced to 66/5 in a tense chase.

India all-rounder Shivam Dube, who was released by RCB after a lukewarm season in the UAE, was signed by the Royals for INR 4.4 crores.

In all, 57 off the 61 available slots across teams were filled, including all of the 22 overseas spots. Six teams exhausted their entire quota of 25 players while Royal Challengers Bangalore finished with 22 and Rajasthan Royals with 24 players respectively in their roster.

Other Notable Buys:

Moises Henriques (PBKS INR 4.2 Cr)

Dan Christian (RCB INR 4.8 Cr)

Steve Smith (DC INR 2.2 Cr)

Shakib Al Hasan (KKR INR 3.2 Cr)

Dawid Malan (PBKS INR 1.5 Cr)

Piyush Chawla (MI INR 2.4 Cr)

Chetan Sakariya (RR INR 1.2 Cr)

Cheteshwar Pujara (CSK INR 50 lk)

Harbhajan Singh (KKR INR 2 Cr)

Kedar Jadhav (SRH INR 2 Cr)

Mujeeb Ur Rahman (SRH INR 1.5 Cr)

Sam Billings (DCINR 2 Cr)

Karun Nair (KKR INR 50 lk)