Today I look at the workings of IPL auctions. There is a particular signing at the most recent such auction that will feature later as (IMO) a clear cut example of folk losing their heads.
HOW AN IPL AUCTION WORKS
Each franchise has a total budget for assembling their squad of 90 crore rupees, with the pay of the players they retain from the previous edition deducted from that. There are 25 spaces available in each squad, with a minimum of 18 of those spaces having to be filled. The starting XI can contain up to four overseas players and the full squad is allowed to contain eight such players.
AN EXAMPLE OF HEADS BEING LOST AT AUCTION
Australian left arm pacer Mitchell Starc sold for 24 crore at the last IPL auction – over a quarter of the successful bidder’s total available budget for one player. This is a signing that almost cannot end up being a good one – if he has a stella tournament (and figures after two of 14 group games of 8-0-100-0 suggest otherwise to put it politely) then so he should at that price, while anything less represents failure. Also, with that much of the budget blown on one player there are bound to be weaknesses elsewhere in the squad.
HOW I WOULD HANDLE BIDDING AT AN IPL AUCTION
I would set myself limits beyond which I would not bid no matter how much I wanted to secure the player concerned. I would probably never venture beyond 10 crore for anyone, and even if I suspected I was bidding for a reincarnation of Garry Sobers I would limit myself to 15 crore. I would also concentrate a lot of my attention on players who other franchises seem to be ignoring, rather than being over eager to join in bidding frenzies. I would not want to spend massive money on specialist batters – bowlers up to a certain point yes, and all rounders are obviously always valuable when you have to have at least five bowlers in your XI (and six would be recommended, just so that if someone is getting absolutely smoked you don’t have to give them their full four overs). Mitchell Starc has 12 group games, plus KOs if his team qualifies for those in which to improve his current figures for this tournament, but I cannot see any way in which even he, magnificent bowler though he is, can justify that ridiculous fee. At the moment with those cumulative figures to date of 8-0-100-0 and coming at that astronomical fee he is on course to be the worst flop in IPL history.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
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