IPL 2021 Auction: 3 Teams Which Can Target Nathan Coulter-Nile

Despite winning the title and picking a couple of wickets in the final, Nathan Coulter-Nile was released by Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2021 auction. The right-arm pacer was rotated along with James Pattinson last season; he was given the nod over Pattinson in the playoffs.

However, Coulter-Nile’s heavy price of INR 8 crores, and his fitness issues – NCN missed BBL matches for Melbourne Stars – are the key reasons for him not being retained. The Australian managed to pick 5 wickets in 7 matches in IPL 2020, but provided decent support to Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult and is likely to be bought by some franchise in the upcoming auction.

If not Mumbai Indians, who might also want to buy back Coulter-Nile at a lower price, there are other teams looking for a quality overseas pacer in the IPL 2021 Auction.

IPL 2021 Auction: 3 Teams Which Can Target Nathan Coulter-Nile

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Once again the Royal Challengers Bangalore will enter the IPL auction in search of fast bowlers, overseas fast bowlers in particular. Nathan Coulter-Nile will be on their radar as they have shown interest in the Aussie a few years by buying him – however, he missed the season owing to an injury.

RCB has released Isuru Udana, Dale Steyn, Chris Morris, and Umesh Yadav and NCN could fit the bill perfectly – the Virat Kohli-led franchise also has enough money to buy the pacer at a heavy price.

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals suffered severely last season with the ball as there was no pacer to provide decent support to Jofra Archer. While Archer penetrated from one end, other seamers kept leaking runs from the other in the powerplay and in the death.

Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled with an economy of 7.92 last season, and has been in promising form in the Big Bash League – also the presence of Shane Warne and Andrew McDonald in the Royals’ coaching department could see Coulter Nile move to the inaugural champions’ squad.

Delhi Capitals

Nathan Coulter-Nile could be an apt choice for the back-up of each of the three overseas pacers – Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Chris Woakes – in the Delhi Capitals squad. The two Protea pacers are injury-prone, while Woakes could be called anytime by the ECB for national duties.

DC has also released a spate of pacers: 3 pacers are offloaded while two are traded out. Notably, Marcus Stoinis, who played a significant all-rounder’s role in DC’s march to the final last season has rarely bowled in the BBL owing to an injury. Apart from his bowling skills in white-ball cricket, Coulter Nile’s batting ability could also invite him in the role of a pinch hitter.

Also Read: IPL 2021 Auction: 3 Teams Which Can Target Chris Morris