Shreyas Iyer and Pat Cummins arrive but KKR have work to do

Australia quick Cummins, part of the recent World Cup-winning squad, was the most expensive signing in 2020 at 15.50 crore but returns for half the price

Kolkata Knight Riders secured the return of Pat Cummins and added Shreyas Iyer to their batting line-up on the opening day of the IPL auction.

Australia quick Cummins, part of the recent World Cup-winning squad, was the most expensive signing in 2020 at 15.50 crore.

And though KKR had opposition from Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, they secured his return for half the price (7.75 crore, £691,524).

Shreyas Iyer was the third most expensive signing of the day after Delhi Capitals and Super Giants made a challenge before the Knight Riders eventually prevailed.

In what was a fast start, Nitish Rana returned for 8 crore (£781,935) before Shivam Mavi was snapped up to continue his association.

^{Pat Cummins (Mark Evans/Getty Images)}

There was another return in the form of Sheldon Jackson, but they have brought in just nine players heading into the final day of the auction.

Though there were tentative bids for the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Nicholas Pooran, Harpreet Brar and Shahbaz Ahmed, KKR often bided their time and allowed others to take the lead.

Chief executive Venky Mysore said: “Obviously Shreyas, a quality Indian player at the top of the order, is very very long term in terms of our thinking.

"Delighted to get Pat Cummins at that price, we thought he would go higher so very very delighted with that.

"Cummins and Shreyas, you’ve got two solid (captaincy) options for us."

Kolkata Knight Riders

Pat Cummins, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson