Australia dominate IPL auction as Pat Cummins makes history with KKR move

Glenn Maxwell, Chris Morris, Sheldon Cottrell and Nathan Coulter-Nile are among the big money additions during the ceremony in Kolkata

Pat Cummins became the most expensive overseas player in Indian Premier League history after joining Kolkata Knight Riders for £1.66 million during the auction for the 13th edition of the competition.

The price eclipses the £1.4m that Rajasthan Royals paid for Ben Stokes in 2018.

Australia dominated the day, with allrounder Glenn Maxwell the second-highest earner after joining Kings XI Punjab for £1.15m.

Fellow-countryman Nathan Coulter-Nile and Josh Hazlewood joined Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings respectively, while Delhi Capitals picked up Marcus Stoinis.

England's players enjoyed a mixed auction, with Sam Curran once again the big-money addition for £587,000 to Chennai having previously been dropped by Kings XI Punjab.

Captain Eoin Morgan links up with Brendan McCullum back at KKR and is joined by Tom Banton and Warickshire Bears' Chris Green.

IPL 2020 SQUADS: Full Indian Premier League player list

"Dinesh Karthik is our captain and Morgan will provide a layer of leadership around DK," said McCullum. "He’s a World Cup winner and a returning Knight. He’s very enthusiastic about coming back to KKR. 

"We were going to make space for Cummins. He was the standout player of this auction and we were desperate for him. He’s also a returning Knight. To walk away with our No.1 target is satisfying.

Jason Roy and Chris Woakes moved to the Capitals, Tom Curran was a late addition for the Royals and Chris Jordan was picked up by Kings XI as the auction reached the latter stages.

Mark Wood, Alex Hales, Laurie Evans, David Willey, Pat Brown, Liam Plunkett, Ravi Bopara, and George Garton were among those overlooked by the eight franchises.

West Indies seamer Sheldon Cottrell was one of the stand-out moves in his maiden IPL season, joining Kings XI for £914,000, who also picked up arguably the snip of the auction in the form of New Zealand's Jimmy Neesham. 

^{Eoin Morgan is back at Kolkata Knight Riders}

Other overseas signings saw Shimron Hetmyer go for £833,000 for the Capitals and Dale Steyn went at the third time of asking back to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Of the high-profile overseas stars rejected, Mushfiqur Rahim, Kusal Perera, Shai Hope, Martin Guptill, Jason Holder and Angelo Matthews were among those left disappointed.

There is little doubt about the stand-out addition of the day though, as 48-year-old Pravin Tambe joined KKR as their penultimate pick.

The dates and fixtures for the 2020 IPL are yet to be confirmed but the competition is expected to be held between late March and early May.

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