In a shocking development, IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans are considering to trade their star speedster in a bid to grab Shivam Mavi from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
GT looked super strong in most areas during the 2022 IPL and only lost 4 of their 16 matches in the world’s most competitive T20 league last season. However, the Indian fast bowling options seemed to be rather thin with Md. Shami being the sole known name.
Gujarat Titans to trade Lockie Ferguson to KKR for Shivam Mavi
New Zealand speed boi Lockie Ferguson is set for a return to his ex-franchise KKR. Lockie represented KKR in 18 games across IPL 2019-21, picking 21 wickets at a SR of 19. However, the returns sucked once Gujarat bought him.
The pacer started 13 games for GT during IPL 2022 and took 12 wickets at a shameful average and economy of 36 and 8.96 before injury issues started acting up again and Lockie lost his place to Alzarri Joseph from the Caribbean.
Shivam Mavi, on the other hand, also had a horrific last season but the basis of the interest from Gujarat Titans may be the 2 seasons prior to that where Mavi nailed slower ones and yorkers for fun, taking 20 scalps from 17 matches.
31 year-old Lockie Ferguson was bagged by Gujarat for a whopping 10 CR. in the IPL 2022 mega auction after a cut-throat bidding war with Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants and RCB.
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It is the huge salary of Lockie which might be a sub-reason for the shock decision to trade the express pacer out before the auction. If the trade is successful, it’ll also be interesting to see how KKR slots him in their starting 11 with Tim Southee and Pat Cummins leading the pack.
The 2023 IPL auction is scheduled to be held in Turkey on December 16 and before that, the franchises can release and retain as many players as they intend to while also having the option to trade a cricketer to another franchise upon agreement between all 3 parties.