The Player Auction that ignited the excitement of LPL
Wednesday’s player auction of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) was nothing short of a captivating blend of nervous tension, frantic bidding wars and emotional rollercoasters. It did not have the big money that the Indian Premier League (IPL) throws into stacking their teams with the world’s best talent, but the atmosphere was electric.
Having selected players through a draft in the first three editions, LPL decided to follow the footsteps of the mother of all leagues–the IPL, where the players are auctioned in a live auction, ensuring a fair and balanced distribution of talent among all the teams.
It was a high-energy event where cricketing careers and team strategies were determined as franchise owners and their strategists packed their teams with the best talent on offer, using the US$ 500,000 purse available to spend on players.
Five teams–Colombo Strikers, Dambulla Aura, B-Love Kandy, Galle Titans, and defending champions Jaffna Kings–had already signed four players, each using the pre-signing budget of $500,000. They were to spend the remaining funds to buy 20 more, as each team is allowed a maximum of 24 players.
The auction evoked a range of emotions, with players watching at home through various platforms in anxiety, hope and anticipation as they were prayed for a place in one of the five teams.
For most domestic cricketers, an LPL opening is an opportunity to showcase their talents to the world and share a dressing room with some of the best players, coaches and support staff. More importantly, it helps them earn a quick buck to live their dreams.
But the joy of being bid upon by multiple teams contrasts with the disappointment of going unsold, as 360 players — 204 local and 156 foreign — went under the hammer in a marathon seven-hour auction. Out of the 360 auctioned, only 93 players were picked.
Franchise owners and their representatives displayed many emotions too, experiencing elation with successful bids and disappointment when their desired players were acquired by rival teams.
Auctioneer Charu Sharma kicked off things by explaining the rules. The process began with SLC head Shammi Silva picking the lots.
Chris Lynn was followed by Tamim Iqbal but teams showed no interest in buying them at their base price of US$ 50,000 at the initial bid but when Dhananjaya de Silva’s name was thrown into the auction, team owners went head-to-head in trying to outbid each other.
B-Love Kandy–the franchise with a new owner this season–pulled out after fiercely bidding to grab the all-rounder at US$74,000, allowing Dambulla Aura to pocket the first player for $76,000 ($36,000 more than his base price).
After an intense bidding between Jaffna Kings, Colombo Strikers and Dambulla Aura, Kings picked Charith Asalanka for $80,000 ($50,000 more than his base price). Both Asalanka and de Silva were among the top five highest offered at Wednesday’s auction, where left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka fetched the highest of $92,000.
The 22-year-old entered the fray at the base price of $20,000 and Kings, who eventually paid a fortune to get the player, made the initial bid and were joined by Galle Titans. After a close battle, Titans decided to stop their bid at $90,000 with Jaffna claiming the prized player. Madushanka, although overlooked for the World Cup qualifiers, has been in terrific form against South Africa ‘A’.
It was clear that Kings, the undisputed champions of all three previous editions of the LPL, were hell-bent on getting Asalanka and Madushanka at any cost.
The surprise, however, was Pathum Nissanka being sold for his base price of $40,000 while left-arm seamer Binura Fernando got a hefty $76,000 offer from Aura. Jaffna battled closely to get their second left-arm seamer and were even willing to pump out as much as $74,000 (but no more than that) as they pulled out, allowing Aura to have their man. Among those highest-paid Sri Lanka cricketers was Dinesh Chandimal, the national discard, who fetched $72,000 from B-Love Kandy.
New Zealander Chad Bowes raked up the highest bid among foreign stars, being sold for $58,000 while Shoaib Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, Chris Lynn and Noor Ahmed were bought for $50,000 each. Suresh Raina–the only Indian who had registered for the player auction–went unsold.
Jaffna, having spent a large portion of their purse, seemed to have done well in stacking up their squad. They have strengthened their seam attack by adding the likes of Dilshan Madushanka, Nuwan Thushara, Asitha Fernando, and Hardus Viljoen. Their batting is strong with David Miller joining the ranks of Thisara Perera, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Charith Asalanka, Shoaib Malik, and Chris Lynn. Maheesh Theekshan will lead the spin attack along with Dunith Wellalage. They look to be the team to beat, this season as well.
Dambulla Aura, with Sanath Jayasuriya as its Team Director, got an explosive batting lineup that includes Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Mathew Wade, Dhananjaya de Silva and Sadeera Samarawickrema. South African seamer Lung Ngidi, Noor Ahmed, Pramod Madushan and Binura Fernando will make the seam attack deadly, although its spin attack looked weak with Dushan Hemantha and Praveen Jayawickrema being among the recognised players.
As for B-Love Kandy, they were smart in getting a balanced side. Having bought both Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Wanindu Hasaranga, two of the world’s best spinners in the shortest format, they also picked Dushmantha Chameera, Sri Lanka’s best seamer at present. Angelo Mathews, Fakhar Zaman, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, and Asif Ali are some of the batters they can depend on.
Colombo has a very strong batting line-up, led by Babar Azam, one of the best batters in the world in all formats. However, their bowling attack is not as strong, and they could struggle if their batsmen fail to fire. Galle, on the other hand, has a sturdy bowling attack, led by Shakib Al Hasan, one of the best international all-rounders. But their batting line-up is not as robust and they could falter if their bowlers have an off day.
Despite their unbalanced squads, both Colombo and Galle have the potential to be competitive in the LPL this year. Babar Azam and Shakib Al Hasan are both world-class players, and they can single-handedly win matches for their teams. If Colombo and Galle can get their other players to contribute, they could both pose a good challenge for the title.