Sunrisers Hyderabad’s spin-bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan has explained why the team bid a whopping INR 10.75 crore to sign West indies wicket-keeper batter Nicholas Pooran at the IPL 2022 Auction.
Pooran, who looked off colour for the Punjab Kings, sparked a bidding war between the franchises at the IPL 2022 Auction. Eventually, the Sunrisers Hyderabad secured his services for INR 10.75 crore.
While some fans thought that the batting coach of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team Brian Lara may have pushed the team owners to buy Pooran, Muralitharan disclosed that the West indies star was their Plan ‘B’ because they failed to sign their first-choice player Ishan Kishan.
“As I said, we initially wanted to buy Kishan. But once his bid crossed our budget, we were forced to look for alternatives. We wanted an international wicketkeeper who would be available for all the games, so we thought Pooran was the right choice once Kishan slipped away,” said Muralitharan in a chat with Sportskeeda.
Muralitharan also mentioned that the team owners considered Jonny Bairstow. However, they were unsure whether he would be available for the entire season, which was why they decided against bidding for him.
Fans should note that Bairstow pulled out of the second half of the IPL last year, a factor that may have played a role in the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s decision to target Nicholas Pooran.
Sunrisers Hyderabad is the 3rd IPL team for Nicholas Pooran
Previously, Nicholas Pooran has been a part of the Mumbai Indians and the Punjab Kings in the IPL. He will make his debut for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022.
Pooran, having good Series against India he scored three fifties in the three games of three match Series. But India defeated West Indies by 18 runs in the third T20I and Win the series 0-3