4 foreign players who need to justify their price tags in IPL

Although retained players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) hold the team management’s long-term faith, the price tag pressures often greatly affect players who try to adapt to new roles in a different franchise. Here we look at five players collected for large sums of money in recent IPL auction and what to expect from them.

1. Glenn Maxwell

In a 2014-by coincidence, the last IPL in the UAE-Glenn Maxwell came into shape with the Kings XI Punjab and scored strongly to the finals. He became the tournament's most valuable player, scoring 552 runs, and was a major buy in the IPL since then. However, his form has since drunk since that year, with just 803 runs in the next four seasons. Even when he was tried as the franchise captain, King XI could not achieve similar success. In 2018, he piled up his products to the Delhi Daredevils and was unable to live up to the INR 9 crore price tag for another bad season.

2. Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins, an Australian pacer, ranks well above the ICC Test Bowling Rankings and in the top five ODI bowlers. He is also Australia’s new vice-captain in formats. With a real flurry at the call table, Cummins was finally picked up for a record-breaking INR 15.5 crore by the Kolkata Knight Riders – who entered the tendering at the very end. Though Cummins is a respectable, professional bowler, he isn't listed in T20 format in the top 10 bowlers. Kane Richardson and Mitchell Starc are both followed by Australian pacers. That means Cummins is still deserving of the steep price tag as a T20. Cummins may also be incredibly useful for a team such as KKR. In the 2019 IPL season, they were painfully exposed to the failure of a pace bowling spearhead as they plunged into six successive losses, becoming the least expensive team.

You, therefore, want Cummins to lead the bowling attack and to deliver realistic lower-order runs on the basis of adequate quality to justify your investment.

3. Chris Morris

Chris Morris, the all-rounder of South African rhythms, was part of a huge auction bidding war before eventually sold at one of the highest amounts of money at the auction to the Royal Challengers in Bangalore. What is the reason? It bowls fast, and has a good mortality record and has a spectacular T20 strike rate.

Since 2019, however, it hasn't been for the national team. He had a bad display with both bat and ball in South Africa’s T20 league before the auctions. The quality of it on UAE pitches that is not conducive to speed bowling remains to be seen.

4. Sheldon Cottrell

After a break in his first ODI in 2019, he has exploded globally. In his bowling games, his athletics, and, above all, his signature greetings, Sheldon Cottrell won over fans. At the ICC World Cup 2019, he took 12 wickets and in early 2019 recorded a 4-for-4. It is also ranked eleventh among the world's T20 bowlers.

Nevertheless, Cottrell and its Caribbean Premier League team have a terrible season and the new strategy does not look very promising. Cottrell is also energetically free and has the left-arm advantage, but maybe unsuccessful in seam bowling pitches. Sheldon will be playing for the Kings XI Punjab in this year's IPL.

READ MORE Cricket articles here!