IPL Auction 2021: Meet Riley Meredith - the 150kmph Pacer Who Punjab Kings Got for ₹8 Crore
An Australian pacer who can bowl express speeds above 150 kmph - meet Riley Meredith, the latest big buy for Punjab Kings in the IPL auction. Meredith went for Rs 8 crore, the highest bid for an overseas uncapped player in the auction.
- Cricketnext Staff
- Updated: February 18, 2021, 7:47 PM IST
IPL Auction 2021: An Australian pacer who can bowl express speeds above 150 kmph - meet Riley Meredith, the latest big buy for Punjab Kings in the IPL auction. Meredith went for Rs 8 crore, the highest bid for an overseas uncapped player in the auction.
Meredith's presence adds weight to Punjab's pace attack that already saw another Australia pacer Jhye Richardson being picked for Rs 14 crore.
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Meredith had an impressive Big Bash League 2020-21, where he drew attention with raw pace. He picked up 16 wickets from 13 matches at an economy of 7.82 in the tournament.
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WATCH:
Riley Meredith breaks the 150km/h barrier.
152.2, if you don't mind 🔥 #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/Ec2FeMKtv5
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 13, 2020
Pace wins 🔥
Riley Meredith goes straight through the defences of Shaun Marsh #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/3q0E937oQG
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 26, 2021
Meredith has overall played 34 T20s for 43 wickets at an economy of 8.06. With Meredith, Richardson and Mohammed Shami in the squad, Punjab have plenty of pace in the tank.
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Meredith had a base price of Rs 40 lakh but that went up quickly with Delhi Capitals involved in a bidding war with Punjab.
Earlier, Richardson became the second most expensive bowler in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he was bought for a whopping sum of Rs 14 crore.
The young talented Australian fast bowler had a base price of Rs 1.5 crore and was expected to be a sought after option at the auctions after his magnificent showing in the 2020-21 Big Bash League.
Only one bowler has been sold at a higher price in the history of the IPL Auctions - Pat Cummins went for Rs 15.5 crore to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2020.
Richardson, playing for Perth Scorchers returned with 29 wickets in 17 matches at a bowling average of 16.31 and strike rate of 12.7 in the tournament. He was also very restrictive with an economy rate of just 7.69.
Punjab also got Moises Henriques, Dawid Malan and Shahrukh Khan in the auction.
Team Rankings
| Rank | Team | Points | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 6877 | 275 |
| 2 | Australia | 6800 | 272 |
| 3 | India | 10186 | 268 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 7516 | 259 |
| 5 | South Africa | 5047 | 252 |
| FULL Ranking | |||