IPL 2018 Auction: Best buys by each IPL team

#5 Chris Woakes (7.4 crores) – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Wakes is turning out to be a terrific all-rounder

This one was a bit difficult to choose for me as I had to pick between him and another player in red-hot form, Colin De Grandhomme. However, the scales are tilted slightly towards the Englishman due his brutality with both bat and ball.

The fact that RCB spent a whopping 7.4 crores on the Englishman is a testament to the amount of reverence that they have for him. Having played in the IPL before, he is not new to the glamour and pressure of the competition.

And yet, he strived to it.

In 13 innings for the Kolkata Knight Riders, he took 17 wickets at an average of 22.71. His economy rate might be on the higher end at 8.77, but he is a wicket-taking bowler and in most cases, that is what truly matters.

However, there is a bonus with him this time. Unlike with KKR, his batting will be much handier. Back then, he wasn’t refined with the bat as he is now. Indeed, since his ODI debut in 2011 till January 1st of 2017, he has averaged just over 22 with the bat.

But since 2017, his batting average has flown to 67.80. Well, the stats don’t lie, do they?