Punjab Kings broke the bank to sign uncapped Australian fast bowler Riley Meredith for a whopping Rs 8 crore. Meredith, who will join fellow Australian Jhye Richardson at Kings, became the most expensive uncapped overseas player signed at an auction.
Where it started
Meredith made his List A debut in a 2017 game between Cricket Australia XI and Pakistan. He then played his maiden first-class match for Tasmania in the 2017-18 season. The 24-year-old had even featured in the BBL semifinal and final that year, sharing bowling duties with Jofra Archer. The 2018-19 home season catapulted Meredith into the limelight. He took 27 wickets for Tasmania in eight Sheffield Shield games and snapped up 16 wickets in the BBL.
After a side strain limited him to just six BBL appearances in 2019-20, Meredith impressed in the 2020-21 season. He picked up 16 wickets at an economy rate of 7.82. Meredith is part of Australia's squad for the T20I series in New Zealand later this month.
What Meredith said after auction:
"I was trying to figure it out and tell him [Jhye], it went up to a million, two million, unbelievable, and then mine rolled around and it was the same," Meredith said. "Same as Jhye, I probably only got a few hours sleep. I was on Facetime with my girlfriend and couldn't believe what was happening. Like it was fake, to be honest, we were pretty dumbfounded.
"It was pretty outrageous really, wasn't expecting too much going on. Was hoping for a bid or two. It got a bit out of control, luckily enough a couple of teams doing a bit of bidding and it was pretty amazing to go that high.
"I'm sure it will be a learning curve and hoping to grab it with both hands. There was a bit of talk before the auction about fast bowlers being in demand this year. It was a good time to not be allocated to a franchise. Bit of right place, right time."
Comments
SHARE