As ever, the IPL auction was an eventful affair. After Mark Wood’s withdrawal on the eve of the auction, there were 16 English players up for grabs in the IPL auction hoping to join the eight Englishmen who were retained by their franchises.
Here are the five who were picked up in today’s auction:
Moeen Ali, Chennai Super Kings, INR 7 crore (c. £692,000)
A difficult week for Moeen, in which both Chris Silverwood and Joe Root apologised to him for England’s handling of his mid-series return to the UK, took an upward turn as multiple franchises fought for his services at the auction. In the end, he was bought by CSK where he’ll join compatriot Sam Curran.
Tom Curran, Delhi Capitals, INR 5.25 crore (c. £518,000)
The oldest Curran brother was picked up by Delhi Capitals, his third IPL side. One of a number of overseas quicks who were in high demand at the auction, Curran will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2020 IPL campaign with Rajasthan Royals where his economy rate was in excess of 11 runs per over.
Sam Billings, Delhi Capitals, INR 2 crore (c. £197,000)
Billings returns to the Delhi franchise after two years in the slot vacated by Alex Carey. Billings, now 29, enjoyed somewhat of a breakout year in ODI cricket in 2020 and will be hoping that the IPL can kickstart a similar year in 2021 in T20s ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.
Dawid Malan, Punjab Kings, INR 1.5 crore (c. £148,000)
The number one ranked T20I batsman in the world was picked up for his base price, but given the lack of activity around overseas top-order batsmen – neither Jason Roy nor Alex Hales were picked up – there’ll be no complaints from Malan. Whether or not Malan can carry over his stellar T20I form into the IPL will be one of the most fascinating tournament subplots from an English perspective.
Liam Livingstone, Rajasthan Royals, INR 75 lakh (c. £74,000)
Livingstone is back in the IPL after pulling out of the 2020 tournament to focus on the County Championship. It’s been nearly four years since Livingstone made his pair of England appearances and a good showing at the IPL, should he get an opportunity in the Royals XI, could go some way in ensuring he adds to those two T20I caps.
