Chris Morris is the most expensive signing ever in IPL

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.

Will Pucovski set to undergo surgery on injured shoulder

Emerging Australia batsman Will Pucosvi is set to spend a lot of time out of the action due to the shoulder injury he sustained in the third Test match against India earlier last month. The right-hander is set to undergo surgery on ‘shoulder subluxation’ and will miss most part of the Australian domestic season. The surgery and the long period of rehabilitation will jeopardise his chances to get back in the Australia squad for the Ashes series due to be held later at the end of the year. Pucovski was selected for the Test series against Australia on the back of splendid performances in the early Sheffield Season but a blow on his head and subsequent concussion ruled him out of the first two Tests of the series. He later came back in the third Test at the SCG only to miss out once again due to the shoulder injury which he picked up while trying to dive in fielding on the fifth and final day of the SCG. He has been missing in action since.