Sourav Ganguly reveals the reason behind Pat Cummins bagging 15.50 Cr in IPL 2020 auction

The IPL 2020 auction proved to be a windfall of money on Australian players who had entered hoping to get a big pay-day. Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Aaron Finch got more than what they might have hoped for and Chris Lynn probably got the short end of the stick, after being bought by Mumbai Indians, the only bidder for him for his base price.

However, the star of the auction proved to be Pat Cummins who was bought by INR 15.50 crores by Kolkata Knight Riders. Cummins had missed the 2018 season for MI due to injury and didn’t enter the auction in 2019 in order to prepare for the World Cup. However, with the 2020 T20 World Cup next year, the IPL will prove to be a good prep for the players and hence the beeline of Australian players in the auction.

Sourav Ganguly justified the high price that Pat Cummins got

Meanwhile, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly justified the huge amount that Pat Cummins got in the auction after a three-way bidding war for him including KKR, RCB, and KXIP. The bid just kept going up and up until both RCB and KXIP gave up, while KKR became the proud franchise to secure the services of the Australian quick.

“No, I don’t think (Cummins’ price being too high). It has a lot to do with demand. Especially these small auctions bringing players in go after go. Ben Stokes became a part of this small auction and that’s why his value went off the roof of 14 crores,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by timesnownews.com as he vindicated the price KKR paid to get Cummins in the auction.

The former KKR captain said that the pitch at the Eden Gardens with the pace suited the Kolkata franchise’s pursuit for Cummins. “KKR on this hard, green pitch at Eden where there are pace and bounce for the fast bowlers. I think there was a competition between Delhi Capitals and KKR till the last, and Delhi Capitals gave up after a certain point (Rs15 crore). So, I think it’s about supply and demand all the time,” he added.

The former India captain also picked his fantasy XI for the next year’s IPL edition, in which he picked Rishabh Pant over MS Dhoni for his choice of the wicketkeeper. His picks were Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Rishabh Pant, Andre Russell, Jasprit Bumrah, Riyan Parag, Marcus Stoinis, Jofra Archer, Ravindra Jadeja.

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