Eoin Morgan Joins KKR - IPL 2020 Auctions
11 Jan 2020
Eoin Morgan may not be part of England's Test squad in South Africa, but he is set to become part of the Kolkota Knight Riders team in the Indian Premier League. It cost the Knight Riders no less than $563,000 to sign Morgan to their IPL team who are coached by the New Zealand star Brendon McCullum.
The fact that the Knight Riders splashed out such a large amount of money on Morgan will mean that he will become a crucial part of their side. As a result, it is no wonder that many of the bookmakers featured at cricketbetting.org and many other sites will be tipping Kolkota Knight Riders for big things in 2020.
Why Knight Riders Could Be The Surprise Package Of Ipl 2020
Having a quality one-day international batsman like Eoin Morgan in their ranks will work wonders for a Kolkota Knight Riders team who suffered from a mixed form in last year's IPL contest. That saw the side struggling onto a mediocre fifth place in the table.
But December's IPL auction saw the Knight Riders make several big-money signings that suggest that they are serious about this year's competition. Alongside the likes of Morgan, Kolkata also signed the Australian star Pat Cummins in the most expensive overseas signing in IPL history.
But December's IPL auction saw the Knight Riders make several big-money signings that suggest that they are serious about this year's competition. Alongside the likes of Morgan, Kolkata also signed the Australian star Pat Cummins in the most expensive overseas signing in IPL history.
This cost the team 1.7 million, and they will be hoping to benefit from the bowler's remarkable pace and accuracy. While Cummins got earmarked for moves to Delhi and Royal Challengers, the Knight Riders moved quickly to snap up the number-one ranked Test bowler. Plus with even Pravin Tambe joining the team at the tender age of 48 years, it seems that the Knight Riders will have plenty of experience as well as talent in the side.
Kolkata Keen To Use Morgan's Star Appeal
Eoin Morgan leapt to global fame as a result of his captaincy of England's 2019 Cricket World Cup-winning team. His success as the nation's white-ball captain will have played no small role in the Knight Riders' decision to tempt the 33-year old to join the team.
Morgan will be earning twice the amount that he made during his previous IPL tenure at Kings XI Punjab. In addition to this, he will be joined by his England team-mate Tom Banton who has been in excellent recent form in the Australian Big Bash League. Morgan is also close friends with head coach Brendon McCullum.
It will be something of a homecoming for Morgan as he had previously represented the Knight Riders franchise between 2011 and 2013. While Morgan has traditionally underperformed in the Indian Premier League, his success in the Cricket World Cup will mean that his one-day international statistics have improved which will make his recent signing all the more significant.
Other Vital Signings To Look Out For In IPL 2020
Delhi Capitals will be looking forward to seeing how the English duo of Jason Roy and Chris Woakes fit in the team. Both of them were signed for 161,000, and the Capitals will be keen to improve on their surprisingly good third place in last year's Indian Premier League table. That is especially so as West Indies star Shimron Hetmyer will also be playing in Delhi in 2020.
Keep an eye on the already impressive Chennai Super Kings next year. That is because they will now feature the young English star Sam Curran who was released by Kings XI Punjab despite getting an incredible hat-trick against Delhi Capitals last year.
Kings XI Punjab will aim to make up for this with the addition of Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell who signed to the team for a cool 1.15 million, and they will also benefit through adding the West Indies bowler Sheldon Cottrell to their ranks. All of which sets up next year's IPL contest to be a fascinating affair.
