Arjun Tendulkar has been picked purely on skill basis: Mahela Jayawardene

Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun was sold to Mumbai Indians for Rs 20 lakhs during the IPL 2021 mini auctions on Thursday in Chennai.

MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene has said that Arjun has been picked purely on skill basis but admitted that the youngster would have a “big tag” behind him.

"We've looked at it purely on a skill basis. I mean, there is going to be a big tag on his head because of Sachin. But, luckily, he's a bowler, not a batsman. So I think Sachin will be very proud if he could bowl like Arjun," ESPNcricinfo quoted Jayawardene as saying.

The former Sri Lankan captain further said that it is going to be a learning curve for Arjun and he shouldn’t be put under any sort of pressure.

"I think it's going to be a learning process for Arjun. He just started playing for Mumbai, and now the franchise. He will learn the ropes; he will evolve. He's still young. A very focused young man," he further said.

"We have to give him time and hopefully not put a lot of pressure on him either. Just let him evolve and work his way up, and that's what we're there to help him to do," Jayawardene added.

MI bought Adam Milne for Rs. 3.2 crore, Nathan Coulter-Nile for Rs. 5 Cr, Piyush Chawla for Rs. 2.4 Cr, James Neesham for Rs 50 lakhs, Yudhvir Charak for Rs 20 lakhs, Marco Jansen for Rs 20 lakhs apart from Arjun.

Discover more

Chris Morris is the most expensive signing ever in IPL

South African all-rounder Chris Morris is now the most expensive signing in the Indian Premier League history. He has been signed by Rajasthan Royals in an intense four-pronged bidding session with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians. He broke the record for the highest ever signing earned by Yuvraj Singh in the year 2015. Being released by RCB after a decent last season, the bids for Morris took pace very early from 75 lakhs. The interest in the experienced all-rounder skyrocketed as bids rose to an exponential 16.25 crore. The South African previously played for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals in the IPL. Chris Morris has so far played 70 IPL games and has scored 551 runs at a strike rate of 157.8. He has also scalped at an average of 23.96.

IPL mini auctions: Top costliest players

The IPL 2021 mini auctions take place on Thursday. Australia’s Glenn Maxwell and South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris were snapped for some huge amount of money. Glenn Maxwell Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was sold to RCB for whooping amount of Rs 14.25 Cr. Interestingly, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag and ex-New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris had taken a jibe at Maxwell earlier. "Glenn Maxwell. This 10 crore cheerleader proved very costly for Punjab. His IPL routine for the last few years has been of shirking from work but this season he broke that record as well. This is what you call a highly paid vacation," said Sehwag on Maxwell's dreadful season. “If anybody pays anything close to that sort of 10-crore mark, they have got rocks in their head. It is that simple. We all know how good a player he is, and that is not the question. The talent is there, but the talent has outweighed the actual performances we have seen from Glenn Maxwell,” stated Styris. Moeen Ali The England all-rounder Moeen Ali was sold to CSK for Rs 7 Cr. The right-arm offie went under a bidding war between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings. Chris Morris The South African fast bowling all-rounder Chris Morris was sold to RR for Rs. 16.25 Cr. Morris became the costliest player in the history of the IPL. He was earlier released by the RCB. Disclaimer: The figures mentioned are the highest at the time of biding.

Vivo back as official sponsor of Indian Premier League

Vivo, one of the largest mobile phone manufacturing brands in the country has officially made a comeback to the Indian Premier League as the official sponsor of the Indian Premier League. Brijesh Patel the governing council Chairman of the IPL confirmed the news in his inaugural address at the IPL Mini auctions taking place in Chennai. He further said that Star would continue to be the official broadcaster of the IPL 2021. In the 2020 edition, due to the Indo-China conflict, the official sponsorship of the IPL was shifted to Dream11 for a lesser price. But with the matter settled, for now, the Chinese mobile manufacturer is back in the mix as the official sponsor.

Babar, Warner, Shakib, Pollard and de Kock enter The Hundred draft with highest reserve prices

The stars of the domestic T20 leagues around the world, David Warner, Shakib Al Hasan, Kieron Pollard and Quinton de Kock have registered themselves for the ‘The Hundred’ players draft. The Hundred a new format of cricket introduced by the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was scheduled to start in July last year, but covid-19 postponed the inauguration. It is now slated to begin its journey in July this year. The highest reserve price for The Hundred has now been slashed to 100,000 Pounds, which would translate to nearly 1 crore Indian Rupees. Along with Shakib, Pollard, Warner and de Kock, the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada, Jason Holder and Lockie Ferguson have also put up their names in the 100,000-pound reserve club. But the issue is that only four players can be drafted at the reserve price of 100,000 Pounds. A total of 252 players have registered themselves for the auctions and out of that 35 players will be selected in next week's draft. Of the 35, 28 would be domestic players while seven overseas players can be picked. Manchester Originals and Welsh Fire will be the two teams going after the players after opting for an overhaul almost. Rest of the teams have mostly retained their old squad which was picked last year. A closed-doors, virtual draft will take place on 23rd day and the picks would be announced on 24th February. Each team in The Hundred will have 14 players in their men's squad, including three overseas players. England red balls stars could be picked but their availability will be limited due to the Test series. One final player will be allowed each team after the group stage of the T20 Blast as a 'wildcard' selection. "We are delighted with the level of interest we've had from both overseas and domestic players. The calibre of the players involved means that it's going to be an exciting men's draft, with a lot of competition for spaces amongst really top-drawer names,” said Rob Hillman, the Hundred's head of operations.