Australia speedster Pat Cummins, who had represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014, is set to join the franchise once again after they fetched him for a hefty sum of INR 15.5 Crore – the most for a foreign player in IPL history – at the IPL 2020 auction in Kolkata on Thursday (December 19).
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After securing his services for the upcoming IPL edition, KKR head coach Brendon McCullum termed Cummins as the "the best player of the auction" and added that the franchise did not mind paying a record amount for the ace pacer.
"I thought he was the best player of the auction...as a cricketer he's grown, his body has become robust. He is now the vice-captain of Australia cricket team team, which is a mark of his development. Wonderful to secure a world-class player," said McCullum.
Cummins is the numero uno bowler in ICC Test rankings while he has taken 92 wickets in 77 T20s at an economy rate of 7.72 so far.
Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore were engaged in an intense bidding war for Cummins before KKR joined the bid at INR 15 Crore and eventually overpowered the two franchises.
With the price he fetched, Cummins also became the most expensive foreign buy in the history of IPL, surpassing Ben Stokes’ amount of INR 14.5 crore in the 2017 auction
Asked why they bid so late for the Australian pacer, KKR CEO Venky Mysore said: "We would have come in earlier. We were certainly interested in him. He played for us (in the past). We were determined to get him when we got the first opportunity we got him."
Knight Riders also roped in England's World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan for Rs 5.25 crore. Morgan has also represented KKR in the past.
Enquired about the possibility of Morgan leading Kolkata in the 2020 edition, McCullum said: "It gives me an opportunity to announce that Dinesh Karthik is definitely our captain. What we were after was to provide as much experience, quality and leadership around him. Morgan is one of the best leaders going around at the moment.
"He will be a perfect lieutenant for Dinesh Karthik and will also fill that batting spot at No.4. He's in the form of his life. Really pleased to get him.
"In the last couple of years, he has played very, very freely. He knows the set up," said the former New Zealand skipper.
(With PTI inputs)
