In the first IPL trade of 2019, wicket-keeper batsman Quinton De Kock has been sold off by the Royal Challengers Bangalore to the Mumbai Indians, reports from ESPN Cricinfo state.
The South African was sold to Mumbai in an all-money deal before the auctions that is slated to be held in the month of December.
De Kock was bought by the Royal Challengers for Rs 2.8 crore at the auctions in 2018 and have sold him to the three-time champions Mumbai Indians at the same price. To have funds for the deal, Mumbai have released Bangladesh’s left-arm seam bowler Mustafizur Rahman and Sri-Lankan finger spinner Akila Dananjaya. Mustafizur and Dananjaya were bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 2.2 crore and Rs 50 lakhs respectively.
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In the IPL this year, De Kock featured in eight matches where he notched up 201 runs to his name, striking at 124.07. Overall, he has a hundred and six fifty-plus scores in the IPL with a strike rate of 130.38.
This transfer is a first of the trading window in the IPL which starts at the end of a season and ends just a month ahead of the auctions. The franchises will get another transfer window which would start after the auctions and would continue all the way till the beginning of the tournament.
The governing council of the IPL, in 2018 had also announced a mid-season transfer wherein teams could buy and sell uncapped players–only those who haven’t competed in more than two matches midway into the season.
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