Emerging West Indian cricket stars Shimron Hetmeyer, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, Oshane Thomas and Kemo Paul were among the new faces featured in the November 18 Draft Auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League Season. West Indies T20 Captain Carlos Brathwaite also featured in the draft by being sold to the Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 5 crores.
Hetmeyer received the highest pricing among the new West Indians. He was bought for INR 4.2 crore (approx USD 583,000) by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Knight Riders beat out the Kings XI, the franchise with the biggest purse at this auction, in the quest for Carlos Brathwaite, acquiring him for INR 5 crores (approx USD 694,000). The West Indies allrounder first made a name for himself in the World T20 final in 2016 when he hit four sixes off four balls to win the title at Eden Gardens.
Oshane Thomas, who is known to hit speeds of 150 kph, will do just that for Royals, who acquired him for INR 1.1 crore (approx USD 153,000)
Hard-hitting wicketkeeper batsman Nicholas Pooran will join Kings XI’s squad, for INR 4.2 crores (approx USD 583,000). Allrounder Sherfane Rutherford, with a T20 strike-rate of 142 and a first-class best of 6 for 32, joined the Delhi team for INR 2 crore (approx USD 277,000)
Hetmeyer, Pooran, Rutherford, Thomas and Paul all had standout performances during the 2018 Caribbean Premier League which caught the attention of the Indian Premier League Scouts. Hetmeyer and Thomas were also among the very few West Indians with credible performances during the Windies’ recently completed disastorous tours of Indian and Bangladesh. The Windies lost both the Test and One Day International Series against their respective hosts India and Bangaldesh.
The 21-year-old Hetmeyer, who made his T20 debut in 2016, has scored 498 runs in 18 matches at an average of 31.12. He also showed his class during the ODI series against India when he recorded scores of 106 and 94 in the first two matches of the series.
Aside from the five emerging stars several other West Indian stalwarts such as Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Evin Lewis were also retained by their respective IPL franchies.