The lone million-dollar man at the IPL auction, Glenn Maxwell was playing for Australia against the West Indies as the news would have filtered through. Obviously his performances went up after being valued at a million, ultimately picking up 4 wickets in the Australian victory in the 2nd ODI. Glenn Maxwell's stock has risen over the past year, and has found himself a place in the Australian Test squad for their tour of India. He was a steady fixture during the World Twenty20 campaign and the 24-year-old is primed to serve the Mumbai Indians in IPL 6.
He may no longer be a secrecy to batsmen, but Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis possess match-winning abilities as he established at the T20 World Cup. Mendis previously played in the IPL in 2008-09 for defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. Mendis was a rather revelation sought-after player but ultimately went for $725,000 to big-spenders, Pune Warriors India.
Having recently tasted Ranji success with Mumbai, Abhishek Nayar's year just got a whole lot better after being the recipient of a $675,000 successful bid from the Pune Warriors for IPL 6. The southpaw is a veteran of the IPL, having previously represented Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. He has been a key player in first-class cricket in the past few seasons, averaging 57.16 with the bat and 30.02 with the ball.
Thisara Perera (Hyderabad Sunrisers $675,000)
The Sri Lankan all-rounder is a power-hitter with the bat and can pitch in with the ball as well. He has represented Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in past seasons of the IPL but has flattered to mislead. The burden of his price tag will be on Perera's shoulders as will the responsibility of playing for the newest IPL side. Thisara Perera is on his last IPL legs and he will be pressured to deliver.
Christopher Morris (Chennai Super Kings $625,000)
There was a moment during the IPL auction where one would have been forgiven to assume that the bidding was for either Ricky Ponting or Michael Clarke. Yet it was the unheralded Chris Morris, with a cheap base price of 20,000, who sent the franchises into a tizzy. Mumbai Indians, Hyderabad Sunrisers and Chennai Super Kings fought with their batons, with Chennai placing the winning $625,000 bid. Morris will join his fellow Saffer Albie Morkel at the most successful side in IPL history.
The Player of the Series in the 2012-13 season of Australia's Big Bash League, Aaron Finch was a shocking non-candidate for franchises at the IPL auction. Finch has recently found his way into the Australian ODI side and is in a rich vein of T20 form. The fact that no team was ready to pay his rather low base price of $200,000 raises more questions than answers.
With his recent experience of playing in India, one would have assumed that prior would have been an automatic selection for any franchise. He is one of the top keepers in the world and can clear most grounds with his stroke play. But with every franchise boasting a recognized keeper, prior will need to wait until next year’s IPL, to have a shot at the T20 extravaganza.
despite being the second fastest player to reach 50 Test wickets, no permit determined to take a punt on South African pace sensation Vernon Philander. Among the many surprises of the day, Philander was stamped 'unsold' while many rookie pacers commanded some exorbitant fees. To counter however, Philander rarely features for the Proteas in the limited-overs formats, with his talents focused solely in the Test arena.
