Nine players of the current 15-member West Indies ODI squad in India will be going under the hammer at the Indian Premier League auctions on Thursday.
Four others in the squad, including captain Kieron Pollard, have been retained. On what will be their travel day, moving from Visakhapatnam to Cuttack for the final ODI of the tour, players are expected to keep a tab on what unfolds in Kolkata. With the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) now serving as a feeder line for T20 leagues around the world, West Indies’ T20 talent will continue to be in high demand.
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The disparity in pay between IPL and the other leagues is wide. The most expensive player of the CPL gets approximately ~1.12 crore ($158,277) per year whereas Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine have bagged million-dollar IPL contracts over the years.
Big auctions like this tend to become a distraction while on national duty. But for a team whose players are almost perennially at loggerheads with their board over pay, this is a highly awaited event that gives them a chance to secure livelihoods. Having seen it all, Pollard’s advice to his teammates is simple.
“One of the conversations was control what you can control, go out and learn from this (India) series, and the rest takes care of itself. How many franchises are there, eight? The owners will decide what they want to do at the end of the day,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“One of the conversations was control what you can control, go out and learn from this (India) series, and the rest takes care of itself. How many franchises are there, eight? The owners will decide what they want to do at the end of the day,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Pollard’s theory
One of the most successful IPL players from West Indies, Pollard offers his own theory on the dynamics of auctions. “You can’t control whether you are selected or not. I have seen a guy score a hundred against India and (still) not get picked in the IPL. So, again, one score gets you in, and one doesn’t get you in,” he said.
Defending world champions in the T20 format, West Indies have 18 players—out of 143 overseas cricketers—at this auction. A lot of CPL finds who left their mark in the recent T20 series against India, will fancy their chances. Leg-spin all-rounder Hayden Walsh, left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, hard-hitting batsman Brandon King, pacers Sheldon Cottrell and Kesrick Williams (known for his signature notebook celebration) could all become richer on auction-day.
Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons and Shimron Hetmyer—who blew India away in Thiruvananthapuram T20—already have IPL experience and could benefit from a few bidding wars.
Even an uncapped young fast-bowler like Chemar Holder, who did well against India A recently, has made it to the auction list.