The release of Andre Russell into the auction pool, ending a 11-year association with Kolkata Knight Riders definitely came as headline grabber when the Indian Premier League’s retention deadline ended on Saturday. However, all said and done in a week where the IPL has seen trade window being active like never before, the biggest talking point among franchises remains around the swap deal involving Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran from Chennai Super Kings and Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals.
In particular, there is shock and bewilderment around Jadeja heading to Rajasthan, which is where it all started for him in 2008, where the moniker “Rockstar” was given to him by Shane Warne. The move itself was a surprise – as the all-round package that he offers is a rarity that CSK are already finding hard to replace, having made various unsuccessful attempts. But beyond all of it, Rajasthan by letting go of a key player while having readymade replacements in Vaibhav Suryavanshi as opener and Dhruv Jurel as wicketkeeper, have filled two holes by bringing in Jadeja and Curran for a lesser price than what they were paying for Samson.
Jadeja, who was CSK’s top retention last year at Rs 18 crore, is taking a pay cut of Rs 4 crore to join Rajasthan.
This sort of a trade is unprecedented and other franchises reckon it could pave the way for more such in the future. The four crore that they saved from Jadeja meant, they got Curran (Rs 2.4 crore) and also Donovan Ferreira (Rs 1 crore) from Delhi Capitals and still had Rs 60 lakh in the balance.
With regards to Jadeja, sources in the CSK management revealed the all-rounder expressed his interest to move away when they had discussions a month back. And only when the nod came from the player, did CSK pursue their interests with Samson and Washington Sundar being top of their wishlist. Having been an integral member of the squad, even at 37, Jadeja was getting the game time and the spotlight at Chennai, where the fanatics are already moaning his exit on social media. Even as of Saturday morning before the IPL made the deal official, some were hoping against hope that the deal could potentially collapse.
So why did Jadeja offer to take a pay-cut when there was no doubt that he would be a certain starter — the buzz in Jaipur is he could even be the captain. While Jadeja had disagreement with CSK in 2022 when he was removed as captain mid-way through the season, both sides had buried the hatchet and the relationship had been smooth since. So it definitely didn’t warrant a situation where an unhappy employee had to take a pay cut to go elsewhere. Even if one factors the age, 37 isn’t old by IPL standards. The question around his pay cut remains a mystery like most things in IPL.
Chennai, which will need a frontline spinner or a batsman to fill in one slot left vacant by Jadeja, will also gain a lot from Samson’s arrival. They finally have a replacement in place for MS Dhoni, whom sources suggest, may not be a starter in fixtures. That he also bats up the order means, they have a firepower batsman in the top three and there are also indications that he could captain the side in the future. Having finished at the bottom of the table, Chennai will enter the mini-auctions with Rs 43.40 crore, the second most after Kolkata which will have Rs 64.30 crore in purse having let go off Russell and Venkatesh Iyer among others.
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The high profile player swap aside, the IPL trade window was buzzing with activities even as of Saturday morning. While a majority didn’t materialise, multiple franchise officials reveal the IPL is coming of age when it comes to not just relying on auctions as the demand and supply chain continue to remain mismatched.
“With 10 teams and Impact Player in, several teams have holes. It is impossible for most to build a strong team out of a mega auction. Once you get the top players in your basket, the chances of letting go is minimal. So trade becomes a viable option because you have only one interested party which is ready to sit and have discussion. The competition becomes less because once a player enters auction, it is impossible to predict the outcome,” a franchise executive says.
Moreover, the mini auctions have always seen inflated prices for players and although some big names like Russell, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, David Miller, the options are limited.
“Franchises were unsure whether they will be able to land their targets at the auction. Which is why even a team like CSK which has never done player exchange and had just one all-cash deal, were lookout in the market. They have a big purse, but a very few options are ahead of CSK and KKR in the auction table,” points out another franchise official.
