A total of 220 overseas players made themselves available for auction in the IPL, with 34 of them being from the West Indies. And of those 34 West Indians, 17 were signed, making them the largest non-Indian contingent of players at the tournament ahead of Australia and England who are both represented by 13 players each. But what is it about players from the Caribbean that is making them in such high demand?

“The best ability, is availability.”

Unlike other nations, such as England or nations touring England, Cricket West Indies avoids scheduling any international cricket to coincide with the IPL, meaning their players will be available for the whole competition, compared to players from other nations who may need to leave just as the tournament is reaching its finale in order to go on international duty.

This is incredibly important to IPL teams who are looking to build a strong and stable squads to see them through the season. With the result being that teams spent a total of $10.85m on players from the Caribbean, with all of Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder, Shimron Hetmyer and Romario Shepherd fetching more than a million dollars each.

Furthermore, the West Indies have a wealth of talent in areas where the IPL is comparatively poorly resourced. It is no coincidence that the five players listed who were bought for more than a million dollars each possess a skill set that is in high-demand from IPL teams. Namely, seam-bowling all-rounders (Russell, Holder and Shepherd)  and those capable of hitting sixes through the middle and at the death (Pooran and Hetmyer). This also helps to explain why so many world class spinners, such as Adil Rashid, go unsold at the IPL auction, as teams make decisions not based solely on the quality of players available, but the supply and demand of their domestic talent pool.

That is not to say that the West Indies are short of quality. In fact, their demand at the IPL auction, even after such a poor World Cup campaign, goes to shows the level of talent still coming through the region, with six of the 17 players drafted under the age of 25. Ultimately, the reason that West Indians are so in demand in the IPL is a simple one. Good players, with in demand skill sets, who are available to play from the beginning to the end of the tournament. It’s a good combination.

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