Taylor picked up by Pune
Published:Monday | January 10, 2011 | 1:18 PM
Recovering Jamaica and West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor has remarkably landed an Indian Premier League (IPL) deal.
But his fully fit and destructive Jamaica and West Indies batting compatriot Chris Gayle, as well as batting legend Brian Lara, and several other notable West Indians have failed to attract interest on the second and final day of the IPL players’ auction yesterday.
The 26-year-old Taylor was sidelined with hip and back injuries for most of last year, and only recently resumed competitive cricket in Jamaica.
He is part of Jamaica’s squad for the Caribbean 20/20 Championship, which opens today in Antigua, but this failed to deter the Pune franchise, and he was bought for the base price of US$100,000.
This means only three players from the West Indies are likely to feature in this year’s fourth edition of the IPL.
The others are Kieron Pollard, one of the four “protected players” retained by the Mumbai Indians franchise for US$900,000 and fellow all-rounder and compatriot Dwayne Bravo, whose contract was picked-up by reigning champions, the Chennai Super Kings, for US$200,000 on the first day of the auction on Saturday.