South African Players IPL Auction Review

There were 34 South African players who were drafted into the IPL Auction but only 11 were sold or retained. Ongama Gcwabe brings you a detailed reaction to the auction from a South African perspective. 

https://www.central.bet.co.za/cricket/new-zealand-v-south-africa-test-series-preview/2022-02-14/

The IPL Auction took place in Bengaluru from the 12^th to the 13^th of February where the ten franchise teams were bidding for some of the world’s best cricketers and some of the young, upcoming stars of the game. The IPL has added two new franchise teams, namely Lucknow Supergiants & Gujarat Titans, and that has meant more players from around the world would be a part of the multi-million dollar tournament. 

Months before the Auction, all teams had an option to retain players from the 2021 edition and only one South African was retained (Anrich Nortje by Delhi capitals). That alone really set the tone for what would be the biggest auction in the history of the tournament with stars like Kagiso Rabada, Faf du Plessis, Tabrazi Shamsi and Imran Tahir available for all teams to bid for.  

To my surprise, they’re a lot of shocking but perhaps understandable omissions from the auction.

Unsold South African Stars

1 .Tabraiz Shamsi 

2. Imran Tahir 

3. Rilee Rossouw

What is shocking about these three omissions is that both spinners have been performing very well over the past year or so and Rossouw has been at his best, be it in international cricket or franchise cricket. But it is not only them that missed out this year, international stars like Adam Zampa, Adil  Rashid, Shakib Al Hassan, Aaron Finch, Eoin Morgan and Steven Smith also missed out.  

To be fair, some of these international stars are perhaps past their prime and the IPL teams were looking for younger, more exciting cricketers to carry their brands forward into the future. This is seen also in the price tag for Dewald Brevis (Mumbai Indians) as compared to the more experienced SA cricketers like Lungi Ngidi.  

Brevis was sold to Mumbai Indians for R6 Million which is R5 Million more than what Lungi Ngidi &  Dwaine Pretorius went for. Brevis went for more money than Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden  Markram also. But this is not without reason; the 18-year-old star is said to have a bright future ahead of him and the IPL teams were willing to put big money on the promise of a future star that is likened to legendary names like AB de Villiers. 

Sold/Retained South African Players

1. Anrich Nortje – Retained (Delhi Capitals) 

2. Kagiso Rabada – R18.6 Million (Punjab Kings XI) 

3. Faf du Plessis – R14.1 Million (Royal Challengers Bangalore) 

4. Quinton de Kock – R13.5 Million (Lucknow Super Giants) 

5. Marco Jansen – R8.3 Million (Sunrisers Hyderabad) 

6. Dewald Brevis – R6 Million ( Mumbai Indians) 

7. David Miller – R6 Million (Gujarat Titans) 

8. Aiden Markram – R6 Million (Sunrisers Hyderabad) 

9. Rassie van der Dussen – R2 Million (Rajasthan Royals) 

10. Lungi Ngidi – R1 Million (Delhi capitals) 

11. Dwaine Pretorius – R1 Million (Chennai Super Kings)

Unsold SA Domestic Players

Some would say these cricketers were a little too optimistic with their chances of being sold in the auction because they perhaps haven’t done much to warrant a spot in the IPL or they have not had a big enough spotlight shining on them to make IPL teams look their way even though they were drafted into the main auction.  

Some of these locals include: 

1. Sisanda Magala 

2. Donovan Fereira 

3. Duan Jansen 

4. Gerald Coetzee 

5. Janneman Malan 

6. Zubayr Hamza 

7. Ryan Rickelton

End of an Era

The 2022 IPL edition will signal a new era and an end of an era for some of the pioneers of T20 cricket. As the Dewald Brevis’ of this new world make their way on the biggest stage of franchise cricket, the curtains closed for the likes of AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Suresh Raina.  

These three names will forever be synonymous with IPL cricket because of the memories and impact these players had on a new format of cricket. Bengaluru will forever remember Gayle & AB for the wins and efforts they put in at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, while the likes of Suresh Raina will be forever known as kings of Chennai for all the trophies and match-winning performances they produced for the yellow army.  

To some extent, the omissions of Imran Tahir, Steve Smith, Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara also might signal an end of an era for them in IPL cricket.