Sheldon Cottrell, the left-arm West Indies fast bowler, was picked up by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the auction for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The pacer went for the whopping INR 8.5 crore and Gautam Gambhir, the former Indian cricketer, reckoned that KXIP’s move was more in desperation after the franchise missed out on Chris Morris and Pat Cummins.

Gambhir stated that Anil Kumble, the Director of Cricket Operations, didn’t have options to choose from after Morris and Cummins became two of the most expensive players in the auction. As per Gambhir, Cottrell doesn’t quite have the accuracy, despite clocking in excess of 145 kmph on a pretty consistent basis.

Sheldon Cottrell is still to build on accuracy, feels Gambhir

“There were no better options, Pat Cummins and Chris Morris both were sold out – they tried hard to get (Chris) Morris but it didn’t work. I still don’t think Sheldon Cottrell has enough quality to become an 8.5 cr bowler,” Gambhir was quoted as saying in Times Now.

“He’s still to build on accuracy and speed yet that he can bowl at 145 speed; he can look at putting cutters but that might not help at Mohali. I think Anil Kumble picked him up in desperation since they couldn’t get Chris Morris or Pat Cummins. If the demand is high and supply is low, these things happen,” Gambhir added.

From a base price of INR 50 lakhs, Cottrell’s stocks kept going up at the rate of knots. Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) also went after Cottrell, but KXIP came out trumps. Cottrell is currently in India for the three-match ODI series.

As far as Morris and Cummins are concerned, the duo set the IPL auction ablaze on Thursday. The latter was roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a whopping 15.5 crores. Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Capitals also went after him and KKR came in after his price reached 14.75 crores.

Cummins became the second highest grosser in the history of the IPL auction following Yuvraj Singh’s 16 crores a few years ago. On the other hand, Morris went to the RCB for a significant INR 10 crore after a bidding war between the Challengers, KXIP and the Mumbai Indians (MI).