IPL: Year-wise best signing in the auctions

The amount of thinking that goes into every season’s IPL auction is pretty much unthinkable for a layman. All these teams break their brains to come up with a proper permutation that fits their assumptions, interests and most importantly, financial constraints. It is never easy to get the combination of their marquee signings and the domestic signings perfectly in place in order to make up a squad worthy of winning the tournament eventually. For all of it to fall in place and also for the team to do well when the T20 league begins, it is not a very pleasant ride for the franchise owners. Over the years, the think tanks of each franchise have done a tremendous job in picking up one or two brilliant players every season. Here are the best signings made by teams in every edition of the tournament. 2008 edition – Sohail Tanvir, Rajasthan Royals (INR 40 lakh) Sohail Tanvir IPL. (Photo Source: Twitter) For an amount close to INR 40 lakh, Sohail Tanvir’s services went to the Rajasthan Royals and that proved to be a decisive signing in their title-winning campaign. The Pakistani bowler’s confusing action backed by his brilliant pace and accuracy made him nearly unplayable and he also hit the winning runs in the inaugural finale. Tanvir ended up picking the Purple cap, becoming its first-ever winner. He picked up 22 wickets in just the 11 games he played and left his mark in pretty much every game he played. He maintained an economy less than 6.5 at the end of the season and had a staggering strike-rate of 11.22. In the game against Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, he registered figures of 6/14 in his 4 overs. That was the best bowling performance by any bowler in IPL for a good 11 seasons, before Alzarri Joseph broke the record against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019. 2009 edition – JP Duminy, Mumbai Indians (INR 4.56 Crore) JP Duminy. (Photo by Duif du Toit/Gallo Images/Getty Images) The Mumbai Indians had suffered a bad fate in the tournament’s first edition and to change the outcomes a bit, they went all out on certain T20 specialists that were available in the 2009 auction. They splashed INR 4.56 crore to buy JP Duminy, who wasn’t merely a format specialist and a talented all-rounder, but also a South African local. With the Safari lands hosting the tournament, Duminy made merry of the playing conditions and scored a lot of runs despite Mumbai not having a great season yet again. Duminy returned with an impressive tally of 372 runs in 13 innings at an average in excess of 40, playing nearly every game for the franchise. Orange cap winner Matthew Hayden and JP Duminy also scored the joint-most half-centuries that edition, chipping in with five each. The southpaw made a huge impression on the franchise and remained with them for another season, before making a move to Deccan Chargers in 2011. 2010 edition – Kieron Pollard, Mumbai Indians (INR 3.45 Crore) Kieron Pollard. (Photo: IANS) Right after the Champions League T20 in 2009, one player from Trinidad was making headlines everywhere and it was inevitable for him to have caused a bidding war in the IPL. Kieron Pollard went for a whopping INR 3.45 Crore, which was a huge amount for a budding cricketer. After all these years, Mumbai Indians would never regret spending so much money on him. He made the tournament his own in the very first appearance he made. The tall and physically brutal all-rounder was the nucleus of that Mumbai unit alongside Sachin Tendulkar as they made it to the finals before bowing down to Chennai Super Kings. With the bat and ball, he made his presence felt that season. He scored 273 runs in 14 games whilst picking up 15 wickets with his medium pace. His strike-rate of 185.71 was one of the best that season and the cricketing world had welcomed a new six-hitting machine. 2011 edition – Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians (INR 9 Crore) and Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders (INR 10.8 Crore) Gautam Gambhir of Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo Source: Twitter) Two of IPL’s most decorated captains of all time, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir had to be mentioned together as both these signings made in 2011 by Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders helped the teams begin to win trophies and win multiple ones. These two signings changed the tournament’s course if it can be put that way. Gambhir helped Kolkata become a powerhouse under his stupendous leadership and helped the team win the trophy twice in 2012 and 2014. He also scored tons of runs for them, becoming the protagonist of their success story. Ever since his departure in the 2018 auction, the side hasn’t looked at its best and is struggling to cope with his absence at the helm. Rohit, on the other side, began captaining the team in 2013. That was the season they won the title for the first time and they went on to win it three more times under his leadership, in 2015, 2017 and 2019. He’s the only player in IPL to have led four triumphant teams and to have won five winners’ medals throughout his career (One with Deccan Chargers). 2012 edition – Ravindra Jadeja, Chennai Super Kings (INR 9.8 Crore) Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo: IANS) Another signing which turned out to be huge in the long run for Chennai Super Kings was the signing of Ravindra Jadeja. The exuberant left-arm spinner turned out to be a fabulous signing as he paired up brilliantly with Ravichandran Ashwin in the coming seasons. That combination eventually became the Indian Test team’s major partnership as well in the future. He’s been a major part of MS Dhoni’s plans ever since, contributing to their success with the bat and ball. He was a part of the winning team once in 2018 and reached the finals with them in 2012, 2013 and 2015. He is also widely acknowledged as a quintessential figure by the local fans as well. In each one of the seasons he has represented Chennai Super Kings, he has picked up more than 10 wickets in each edition. His best performance in a season came in 2014, where Chennai missed out on a place in the final but Jadeja picked up 19 wickets and turned out to be one of the players of the tournament. 2013 edition – James Faulkner, Rajasthan Royals (INR 2.16 crore) James Faulkner. (Photo Source: Twitter) It is almost saddening that James Faulkner didn’t live up to the huge expectations that were surrounding him, but his career began in quite a dramatic way. He was picked up in the IPL for the third time in 2013, where Rajasthan Royals signed him up for INR 2.16 crore and that proved to be a huge signing for them. Faulkner solved Rajasthan’s death bowling issues with his outstanding back of the hand slower deliveries and ability to hit the block-holes at will. He ended up picking 28 wickets in just 16 games that season, also finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker. He couldn’t replicate those heroics in the coming seasons for Rajasthan, but the money they spent on him was worthwhile for the 2013 edition. He also is one of the two bowlers in IPL history to pick up two five-fers in a single season. 2014 edition – David Warner, Sunrisers Hyderabad (INR 5.5 Crore) David Warner. (Photo: IANS) Sunrisers Hyderabad have always been masters at the auction table and pretty much every season, experts laud them for the signings they make. They signed up David Warner for just INR 5.5 Crore, the amount would seem relatively a bargain when we compare it to what he eventually did for the club. He scored more than 500 runs in five consecutive seasons, becoming the only player in history to do so. He is also the only person to have won three Orange Caps and holds the record for most fifty-plus scores (48) in IPL. Under his leadership, they went on to win the trophy in 2016 against all the odds. Warner has definitely been the finest batsmen in IPL history thus far, going by his astronomic consistency. After the all controversies he’s been through, it’ll be interesting to see if Sunrisers continue with him as the captain again, which doesn’t seem highly likely as they have another able leader in Kane Williamson. 2015 edition – Hardik Pandya, Mumbai Indians (INR 10 lakh) Hardik Pandya. (Photo: IANS) Talk about bargains, this one perhaps has to be the best among the 12 mentioned in this list. Hardik Pandya was signed up by the Mumbai Indians even before he showed any of his exploits at a presentable level and once the all-rounder began hogging the limelight, he never let it leave him. Just a few months after his IPL debut, he made his international debut in Australia and also featured in the World T20 2016 for India. For the Mumbai Indians, he has always been a pivotal part of their title aspirations and has been a part of their title winnings campaigns in 2015, 2017 and 2019. He has scored 1,068 runs for the club thus far at an average of nearly 30 and a strike-rate in excess of 150. He has also picked up 42 wickets and is beginning to pick up pace with every season passing by. He will definitely be huge for the club in the coming seasons as well. 2016 edition – Mustafizur Rahman, Sunrisers Hyderabad (INR 1.4 Crore) Mustafizur Rahman. (Photo Source: Twitter) In the 2016 edition, the think tank of Sunrisers Hyderabad once again pulled off a sensational buy, picking up Mustafizur Rahman for just INR 1.4 Crore. He turned out to be the exact bowling partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar needed and their partnership went on to rip apart defenses that season. Mustafizur bowled predominantly in the death overs and yet maintained an economy under 7. His yorkers were so lethal, it brought down even some of the best batsmen, most famously the sight of Andre Russell losing his balance unable to cope with his accuracy. He ended up picking 17 crucial wickets that season. He ended up winning the best emerging player award that season and is still the only foreign cricketer to have won it in the 12 seasons. His next season with Sunrisers didn’t go as well as he would’ve wanted and was eventually shipped off to Mumbai Indians. 2017 edition – Ben Stokes, Rising Pune Supergiant (INR 14.5 crore) Ben Stokes. (Photo Source: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) The 2017 auction was lit off by the presence of Ben Stokes in it and was signed up for a massive INR 14.5 Crore by the Rising Pune Supergiant. The English all-rounder entered the tournament with tremendous pressure on him to perform well and he made the price-tag pressure look like a mere myth from the past. With the bat and ball, he was at it for the RPS side and performed well pretty much every game. Due to international commitments, he couldn’t continue after the league stages were done and had flown back to England. Nevertheless, he was named the Most Valuable Player that season, the only time in history that the costliest player of the tournament had won it. He scored 316 runs with the bat and also chipped in with a handy 12 wickets. He scored a fabulous hundred against Gujarat Lions as well, which happens to be his only 100 in T20 cricket. He also bowled at an economy under 7.5 and was crucial in the death overs for them. 2018 edition – KL Rahul, Kings XI Punjab (INR 11 Crore) KL Rahul. (Photo: IANS) With all squads going through a major revamp, Royal Challengers Bangalore had to let go KL Rahul and the stylish batsmen cost a whopping INR 11 crore to go in the hands of the Kings XI Punjab. Despite making some very good signings, Punjab ended up not reaching the playoffs, but Rahul’s performance that season was stellar. He amassed 659 runs with the bat, at an average of 54.91 and a strike-rate in excess of 150. His stylish cricket made him the most attractive batsmen to see and enjoy. Despite not registering a three-digit score, he piled up 6 half-centuries that season for Punjab. The youngster managed to rip apart bowling lineups and also made a great impression on the national side, where he continued to get a good preference. He once again chipped in with an impressive run tally of 592 runs in the next edition, making every penny spent on him worth-while. 2019 edition – Jonny Bairstow, Sunrisers Hyderabad (INR 2.2 Crore) Jonny Bairstow. (Photo Source: Twitter) With Shikhar Dhawan departing to another club, the Sunrisers Hyderabad had to look for another replacement as their first-choice opener. They managed to win the bid for Jonny Bairstow at INR 2.2 crore and when compared to how well he fared with David Warner that season, that was another bargain buy. Warner and Bairstow registered the most runs by an opening stand in a season, although Bairstow could stay only for 10 matches. He scored 445 runs with the willow, which included a sensational hundred against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He averaged in excess of 55 and also had a strike-rate of 157.24 in these 10 games. This signing from the Sunrisers gives them quite a headache to choose four foreign players every game. Bairstow and Warner, despite hailing from rival countries, have bonded pretty well as openers and promise a good couple of seasons in the coming editions.