IPL 2020: 5 costliest buys at the auction and how they'll improve their respective franchises

#4 Sheldon Cottrell

Cottrell's signature celebration.

West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell was another player who was expected to be a popular choice among the franchises, and the bidding war between the Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Capitals vindicated many people’s pre-auction belief.

Cottrell’s base price was ₹50 lakh, and he ended up being sold for 17 times more than that at ₹8.5 crores to the Kings XI after an intense bidding war.

Known for his fiery spells in the powerplay overs, the left-arm seamer is expected to add some much-needed strength to Punjab’s lacklustre bowling attack, and his knack of picking up crucial wickets will be hugely beneficial for the Kings XI.

Cottrell’s inclusion in the starting eleven will take some pressure off Mohammed Shami, who struggled to pick wickets last season and was pretty poor in the death overs.

The 30-year-old has never played in the IPL before, but his numbers in T20’s are mighty impressive – he’s picked up 117 wickets in 83 games at an economy of 7.46 runs per over.