IPL 2022: Ben McDermott eyes maiden IPL deal- Australian opener Ben McDermott is banking on his recent masterclass in Big Bash League to get a maiden IPL deal, having gone unsold in the previous seasons of the lucrative T20 league. The 27-year-old was the BBL’s highest run-scorer with 577 at a strike rate of 153.86. Follow IPL 2022 live updates on InsideSport.IN
IPL 2022: Ben McDermott eyes maiden IPL deal, can BBL top-scorer break the bank at mega auction? check out
McDermott wrapped up an impressive Big Bash League season, that saw him being voted as the Player of the Tournament on Monday, while also earning a recall to the Australia T20 side for the Sri Lanka series next month.
McDermott, who has played 17 T20Is and two ODIs for Australia, has never featured in the IPL. He went unsold last season.
“If I don’t get picked up this year not sure when I will. There’s not too much I can do now, it’s all up to those people in charge,” ESPNcricinfo quoted McDermott as saying.
“I’m excited. It’s always an exciting time just to watch, last year I remember Riley Meredith getting picked up for the big bucks and sitting there watching him in our hotel rooms in quarantine in New Zealand,” he added.
Last year, the Australian pace duo of Riley Meredith (Rs 8 crore) and Jhye Richardson (Rs 14 crore) had landed hefty contracts with Punjab Kings after a successful BBL season.
The IPL is expanding to a 10 team tournament this year. With two new teams — Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises — coming in, a two-day mega auction is slated to be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
The league is set to begin in the last week of March.
McDermott became the first player in BBL history to score centuries in consecutive matches, plundering 110 not out against the Adelaide Strikers on December 27 before backing that up 48 hours later with 127 against the Melbourne Renegades.
This performance has also seen the batter earning a T20I call-up for Australia for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.
“I’ve had a lot of experience through maybe [being selected] prematurely; I don’t think I wasn’t ready to play for Australia but I do feel ready now. I feel like I’m on top of my game whereas in previous years I have sort of been in and out through player bans, Covid, all that sort of stuff, that’s how I’ve got my opportunities,” said McDermott.
“I feel like I’m more ready than ever to play for Australia and I’ve developed a lot of learnings through those experiences. They haven’t been good ones, I won’t shy away from that, but definitely learnt and come back better,” he added.
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