IPL players ‘exhausted’ and ‘dumfounded’ after landing life-changing contracts

Fast bowlers Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith watched the action from their quarantine hotel

Jhye Richardson in action for the Perth Scorchers (Getty Images)

Jhye Richardson was “mentally exhausted” and Riley Meredith left “dumbfounded” after both Australian fast bowlers struck it rich at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Chennai on Thursday.

Punjab Kings splashed out £1.38m for Richardson and agreed a £789,000 deal for uncapped Meredith.

Both pacers were keeping tabs on the auction from their quarantine in a Christchurch hotel ahead of Australia’s Twenty20 series in New Zealand.

“I mentally exhausted myself of all these emotions of feeling sick and excited,” Richardson told a video conference. “It’s life-changing to be honest.

“Your emotions take over and you double check it, you triple check and quadruple check it. I was scribbling on papers, nervous hands, still sinking in...”

The 24-year-old missed the 2019 ODI World Cup with a shoulder injury but is determined to stake his claim for the T20 World Cup in India later this year with a strong IPL display.

“The goal for me is to play test cricket but whilst I’m not playing that, what’s happening in front of me is the most important thing and for me at the moment, that’s T20 cricket,” he said.

In another room at the same hotel, Meredith was using an online currency converter to figure out how much he would receive.

“I was on Face Time with my girlfriend at the time and we just absolutely couldn’t believe it was happening,” said Meredith. “It was like it was fake, to be honest. We’re both pretty dumbfounded.”

Fellow Australian Glenn Maxwell joined Royal Challengers Bangalore for £1.4m while South African all-rounder Chris Morris broke all auction records with his £1.6m move to Rajasthan Royals.

This year’s IPL is scheduled to be played in April-May though exact dates have not been announced yet.

Reuters