Why did Hasaranga attract such big money?

Wanindu Hasaranga

Wanindu Hasaranga, the Sri Lanka all-rounder who was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 10.75 Crore (Rs. 287 million) fills two crucial roles teams look for. 

He can function as a wrist spinner with variations, and also be used as an allrounder who can strike at 130-plus from No. 6 or No. 7. 

Hasaranga has established himself as one of the best googly bowlers in the world - his T20I strike rate is 12.9 and his economy rate is 6.32. And spinners with variations have traditionally done well in the IPL.

But why did Hasaranga get a higher price than experienced spinners such as Yuzvendra Chahal and R. Ashwin? This is where his second skill comes in.

Hasaranga can bat in the middle order and score fast - his T20 strike rate is 136.63. That kind of player was in short supply in the auction. 

Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja had all been retained, but that still left four teams - Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings - desperate to find explosive allrounders. 

No surprise then that three of those teams were battling for Hasaranga. 

Another point to remember is that his name came up before many of the big-hitting allrounders who were sold on day two. Also, he was the only one of those allrounders who bowls wrist spin.

There have been questions as to why the Royal Challengers pursued Hasaranga despite having him in their squad last season and only giving him two games. But remember, last season the Royal Challengers had Chahal filling the wrist spinner’s spot. 

This season, by having a wicket-taking wrist spinner who can bat in the top seven, they have more options in terms of team combination - they could play four seamers after Hasaranga, with Glenn Maxwell as the second spinner, or make the batting deep with Shahbaz Ahmed as another spin-bowling allrounder at No.8.

Other Sri Lankans who will represent at the IPL are:

Dushmantha Chameera (Lucknow Super Giants for Rs. 54 million)

Maheesh Theekshana (Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 19 million)

Chamika Karunaratne (Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs. 13 million)

Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Punjab Kings for Rs. 13 million)

There are also three former Sri Lanka cricketers as coaching staff members – Mahela Jayawardene (Mumbai Indians), Kumar Sangakkara (Rajasthan Royals) and Muttiah Muralitharan (Sunrisers Hyderabad).