Riley Meredith’s hits paydirt in IPL bidding frenzy

The wee hours of the morning turned out to be life changing for Hurricanes fast bowler Riley Meredith.

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IN the space of frenzied bidding war in the middle of the night in a continent he’s never set foot, Hurricane fast bowler Riley Meredith became one of Tasmania’s highest ever paid athletes.

While teammates Ben McDermott and Matthew Wade went unsold, the 24-year-old was sold to the Kings XI Punjab for a record $1.42 million – the highest amount ever paid for an uncapped overseas player in the Indian Premier League’s history.

Meredith, on tour with the Australian T20 squad in New Zealand, was still in a state of shock the following day after a sleepless night watching his payday skyrocket online.

“It is pretty unbelievable,” Meredith said.

BBL match between the Hobart Hurricanes v Melbourne Stars from Blundstone Arena, Hobart. Hurricanes Riley Meredith. Picture: Zak Simmonds

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

“I’m not really sure to be honest, it is still quite hard to fathom what’s happened.

“I’m sure I won’t change too much but it is hard to comprehend. I haven’t really thought about it too much.”

The Ricky Ponting-coached Delhi Capitals was the other franchise in the race for Meredith that bumped up the Clarence quick’s price.

The tournament, scheduled to start in April, will be Meredith’s first trip to Asia, let alone cricket mad India.

He ranked the highlight next to what is sure to be only a matter of time – being selected for Australia, and he said despite the IPL’s richest, he wasn’t about to switch total focus to the lucrative shortest format.

“As a cricket you want to be a three-format player,” he said.

“I want to be red ball and white ball all throughout the year, it definitely hasn’t changed my focus.”

Riley Meredith of the Hurricanes celebrates taking the wicket of Jack Edwards of the Sixers during the Big Bash League match between the Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers at Blundstone Arena, on December 10, 2020, in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

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