Why West Indies batter Evin Lewis didn’t sign up for IPL mini-auction

405 players have been shortlisted for the upcoming IPL mini-auction in Kochi, to be held on 23 December and a lot of star players will go under the hammer when the action begins at 2:30 PM IST. Plenty of players from West Indies have enrolled themselves for the auction but there was a notable omission from the 20-member shortlist.

The aggressive top-order batter Evin Lewis wasn’t on the list and the 30-year-old, in an exclusive conversation with News18 Cricketnext, revealed he was “taking bit of a break”. The left-hander played for Lucknow Super Giants last season and has played for Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians in the past. He was released by the KL Rahul-led side ahead of the mini-auction.

“I wish everyone all the best for the auction. I am actually taking bit of a break from that cricket until I get back to where I need to be. So yeah,” Lewis said.

Over the years, players from the Caribbean have dominated the league and the likes of Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, and Kieron Pollard have become household names in India for their exploits with both bat and ball. Every franchise wants the Caribbean flavour in the mix, especially in the shortest format, and Lewis too was approached ahead of the mini-auction.

“(smiles) I was contacted via email, that’s all I can tell and say,” Lewis said.

The LSG ride, and the one-handed blinder

It was the 66^th match of the Indian Premier League and as many as 418 runs were scored in the fixture. A 70-ball 140 from Lucknow Super Giant’s Quinton de Kock had powered his side to 210/0 in 20 overs and KKR, looking to press for qualification into the playoffs, were left with a mountain to climb.

The ascend didn’t start in convincing fashion but some fight from the middle-order featuring Nitish Rana, Sam Billings, and Shreyas Iyer and a 15-ball 40 from Rinku Singh in the final few overs triggered panic in the LSG camp. Needing 21 from the last six balls, the odds were still heavily in favour of LSG but Rinku was a man on a mission. He clobbered Marcus Stoinis for 4, 6, 6 off the first three balls and reduced the equation to just 5 off 3 for the win. A couple of more runs were collected off the next ball and it was down to just 3 of 2.

What happened on the fifth ball will remain etched in LSG and one particular player’s memory forever but the same can’t be said for the opposite camp. Rinku miscued a big drive over cover and a charging Lewis, from the point region, took what turned out to be “TATA IPL Catch of the Season”. A one-handed blinder shattered KKR’s hopes and helped LSG seal the playoff spot.

While it was a happy memory for Lewis, there wasn’t much from the bat to talk about. Bought at the auction at the base price of Rs 2 crore, the belligerent top-order batter didn’t get many chances with the bat for the franchise. He featured in six games during the season, got to bat in five, and returned with just 73 runs. 55 of those came in a single innings.

“I was probably expecting a little more opportunities, I didn’t get that. I think the franchise Lucknow is actually a good franchise. Good coaching staff and a good bunch of players, and everyone trying to keep a good family base together. My experience was largely good and I enjoyed to be honest,” Lewis said.

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