Captains, coaches, owners and others – vast and varied – emerged pleased with their purchases after Tuesday’s Indian Premier League player auction in Jaipur.
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene on the return of Sri Lanka pace ace Lasith Malinga:
‘Malinga has made a comeback after 12 months and is performing really well. We needed a senior who could guide the young group we have. He is an MI player who has performed for us, so it’s easier to relate to Malinga.’
Hyderabad Sunrisers mentor VVS Laxman on the signatures of wicketkeepers Wriddhiman Saha and Jonny Bairstow:
‘In the last auction we picked a squad that could play in different conditions and we had back-ups. Now we picked Saha and Bairstow. Jonny is a great opener and wicketkeeper, so it gives us different combinations.’
Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Ashish Nehra on the arrival of homegrown all-rounder Shivam Dube and West Indian batsman Shimron Hetmyer:
‘Dube has done well in T20s recently and Hetmyer gives us a middle-order option because a lot of Australian and England players will leave early. There’s no right or wrong in the IPL. You pick the best players you need and we have a fast-bowling army.’
Delhi Capitals assistant coach Mohammad Kaif on the return of South African batsman Colin Ingram and importance of fast bowler Ishant Sharma:
‘We’ve got a back-up wicketkeeper now and also Ishant, who is doing well right now. He gives us a local flavour, too. Colin is someone who could do well at number five or six – and he has experience of playing in slow conditions.
Kings XI Punjab coach Mike Hesson welcomes so-called mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy:
‘We had to wait and see how it was going for Varun’s bid. He can bowl in the powerplay and at the death – and he can bat.’
Kolkata Knight Riders captain and auction first-timer Dinesh Karthik:
‘I was a little amused initially watching it all happen. I’ve known some of these players, so watching some go unsold, I was a bit sad. It’s a very interesting process and it’s my first auction.’
Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan on not securing Ingram:
‘We had a set plan and we had a good team. We had about 20 players and needed only three more. Bairstow is a big buy, in any format. He might not play the whole season, but we’re investing for the whole season as well. We wanted an Indian wicketkeeper, so we went for Saha. For back-ups for batsmen like David Warner, we tried for Ingram, but couldn’t get him and went for Guptill.’
Rajasthan Royals co-owner Manoj Badale on the retention of seamer Jaydev Unakat:
‘The plan was to never lose Jaydev. We’ve also got Varun Aaron in our bowling attack and we just needed to focus a bit on the back-up players, keeping in mind the World Cup.’
Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal on all-rounder Axar Patel’s price:
‘Axar was our number one pick going in the auction. And frankly I was surprised to pay only five crore for him. When we released Glenn Maxwell, we knew we needed a finisher. Ingram has played in the sub-continent and he’s from South Africa. That’s where the IPL may go, we’re told, so it helps because the Australian and England players won’t be available for the entire tournament. We also bought Ishant, who knows the Feroz Kotla venue well.’
Kings XI Punjab chief executive officer Satish Menon on Hessons’ choices:
‘No punts, all were good buys. We’ve been following them from scouting and our analysis. We’ve got a more balanced team this year. Our team wasn’t that bad last year, but something went wrong. Hesson has chosen players for the slots and the right fits and he has back-ups.’
Photo: Gallo
