Australians were the hot property on Thursday, with three men from the country in the top five of most expensive players at the IPL 2020 auction.

The eight teams were looking to fill up a maximum of 73 spots at the auction, with 27 spots open for overseas players. While some of the uncapped Indians commanded high bids at the IPL 2020 auction, it was the international stars that topped the list of most expensive players.

The record for the most expensive overseas player – previously held by Ben Stokes – was broken. We take a look at the five costliest buys from the event.

No.5: Nathan Coulter-Nile – INR 8 crore – Mumbai Indians

Australia overlooked Nathan Coulter-Nile for their upcoming ODI tour of India and he doesn’t seem to be a part of their T20I plans either. But in the IPL universe, he commanded greater value than the likes of Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy and Chris Lynn.

Coulter-Nile, who has previously played for Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, attracted bids from Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai. He has been a reliable bowler in the IPL – his 36 wickets have come from just 26 games at a reasonable economy rate of 7.66. But it was probably his ability to clear the ropes from lower down the order that helped hike up his value.

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No.4: Sheldon Cottrell – INR 8.5 crore – Kings XI Punjab

The West Indies fast bowler attracted bids from Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals. The appeal for  Cottrell was done no harm by the fact that he proved a handy customer in the recent T20I series in India. He picked up three wickets from three games, with an economy of under eight in a high-scoring series.

His overall T20 numbers are very impressive, with 117 wickets against his name from 83 matches at 19.08. Moreover, armed with a nasty short ball and well disguised slower ones, he seems to be getting even better.

No.3: Chris Morris – INR 10 crore – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Hard-hitting seam bowling all-rounders can be a highly-valued commodity in T20 cricket and South Africa’s Chris Morris fits into that bracket. He attracted bids from Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore and just when it seemed like Bangalore were about to bag him at 7.5 crores, Mumbai Indians hopped in. But Bangalore were the most determined side, finally securing him for 10 crore.

Morris has played for Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings in the past. In 61 IPL matches he has scored 517 runs at 27.21 and a strike-rate of 157.62. To go with that, he also has 69 wickets at 24.77.

No.2: Glenn Maxwell – INR 10.75 crore – Kings XI Punjab

Glenn Maxwell once again spurred a bidding war, with Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals – his two most recent IPL franchises – displaying an eagerness to win him back with little regard for his poor 2018 season, in which he scored just 169 runs at 14.08.

The Australia all-rounder is a very experienced T20 campaigner, having played 251 matches from which he has scored 5589 runs at a strike-rate of 154.94. His off-spin has earned him 85 wickets too.

No.1: Pat Cummins – 15.50 crore – Kolkata Knight Riders

Pat Cummins may be the world’s best Test bowler at the moment, but he is no laggard with the white ball either. In fact, if the IPL auction is an indicator, he is perhaps the best in the world in the shortest format too, as he created history by becoming the most expensive overseas IPL player in the history of the league.

The 26-year-old, who has 92 T20 wickets against his name from 77 games at 24.46, triggered huge interest from Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. But just when that battle seemed to have gone Bangalore’s way, Kolkata Knight Riders came in and made what was to become the final bid. In seven T20Is in 2019, Cummins took nine wickets at 19.11. What was more impressive was his economy rate of just 6.61. His lower-order batting skills may have also added to his value.

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