Richardson lands monster IPL deal

West Australian speedster Jhye Richardson has secured a massive IPL payday, having landed a 2.48 dollar deal with franchise Punjab Kings for the 2021 tournament.

Richardson was in demand, with Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab going back and forth for 10 minutes until the right-armer went to the Kings for INR14 crore.

Joining Richardson at Punjab is Riley Meredith, the Hobart Hurricanes express paceman who was sold for A$1.42 million after a bidding war with Delhi, becoming the third Aussie millionaire of the night.

Glenn Maxwell has found a new home at RCB, the all-rounder sold for 2.52 million dollars to be the most highest paid Australian player in the auction.

Incredibly, Maxwell and Richardson weren't the top earners. South African allrounder Chris Morris set a new record to be sold to Rajasthan Royals for A$2.88 million.

Maxwell wasn't even RCB's most expensive buy on the night as towering New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson - listed by the IPL as an allrounder - was the other massive winner on the night, sold for A$2.66 million.

Melbourne Stars quick Nathan Coulter-Nile was picked up by the club that released him, bought for A$886,000 by the Mumbai Indians.

Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques is joining Richardson and Meredith at Punjab after he was secured for $A745,000.

Steve Smith was the first player sold in the auction, bought by Ricky Ponting's Delhi Capitals for A$390,000. It's a significant drop for Smith, who had been on A$2.2 million with Rajasthan before he was released after the last tournament.

It was past midnight when the auction wrapped up, with serial title-winner Dan Christian returning to the IPL for the first time since 2018 after RCB paid A$851,000 for him.

The tournament is scheduled to start in April, the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League since it's inception in 2008.

IMAGE: The West Australian.