IPL auction: Steve Smith hit with $2.1m pay cut as Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith cash in

They’re only on the fringe of the national team, but that didn’t dissuade IPL franchises from shelling out millions for two young Aussie pacemen.

Steve Smith was let go by the Rajasthan Royals despite being the franchise’s captain Picture: AFP

Steve Smith has suffered one of the greatest pay cuts in cricket history with more than $2m stripped from his price tag at the IPL auction while Australian teammates Jhye Richardson and Glenn Maxwell and Hurricanes speedster Riley Meredith had huge wins.

Aaron Finch, the captain of the Australian T20 side which is currently in New Zealand, was another big loser from the auction after he failed to attract a bid.

Smith was released by the Rajasthan Royals before the auction, where he was on $2.5m a season, and he re-entered the boutique event ahead of a bigger auction next year when the IPL is expected to grow in size.

The Royals are coached by Australian assistant coach Andrew McDonald and Smith was captain before finding himself among eight players cut by the franchise in January.

The star batsman went for just $389,000 in the auction in Chennai, picked up at a bargain price by Delhi Capitals who are coached by Ricky Ponting.

Smith was the first player to be sold and went for slightly above his reserve price after a brief bidding war between Delhi and Rajasthan.

Aussie IPL millionaires include fast bowlers Riley Meredith (left) and Jhye Richardson (right), as well as mercurial all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.

If that was not sobering enough for Smith, who is in the middle of a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG, he then watched Maxwell, who had also been released by his franchise, become part of a bidding war.

Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings drove up the allrounder’s price seven-fold before RCP got the Stars skipper for $2.5m.

Richardson, the West Australian fast bowler, then found himself at the middle of another bidding war which saw him pick up $2.4m from the Kings XI Punjab. The franchise also zeroed on Hurricanes paceman Meredith, picking him up for $1.4m.

Another WA bowler, Nathan Coulter Nile was picked up for nearly $900,000 by the Mumbai Indians.

Most expensive video you'll see on the internet today..😉 #HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily | #IPLAuction | #IPLAuction2021 | @Tipo_Morrispic.twitter.com/ZG8nMoEfKH

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) February 18, 2021

The biggest winner of the early evening bidding was 33-year-old South African journeyman Chris Morris who played at the Sydney Thunder in 2019-20.

The bowling allrounder went for almost $3m, as a number of franchises entered a bidding war, before being scooped up by the Rajasthan Royals.

The IPL is expected to begin in April and 125 overseas players entered the auction – including 35 Australians – but franchises only had 22 places for the imports.