A PLAYER WHO'S WORTH HIS SALT

Keeper-batter sets the tone with a 14-ball 48 as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 1 run

- KALYANI MANGALE

ON December 19, 2023, at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, auctioneer Mallika Sagar gave a fair bit of time and chances for all ten franchises to pick the first name of the capped wicketkeeper list for his base price of ₹1.5 crore.

There were no takers.

Maybe it was his base price or maybe there was some other reason, he could not find a home.

It was baffling for the young lad because he was not half bad for the side represented in the previous season of IPL and his form with the white ball for the national team was nothing short of astonishing. But that's how the dice rolls in cricket. Touring with his national team, that too in the Caribbeans, while the auction going on thousands of miles away was probably the best way to distract his mind.

And that is what he did. He smashed 119 off just 57 balls, his second consecutive T20I ton, against the likes of Jason Holder and Andre Russell. His name? Philip Dean Salt.

However, the IPL had different plans for the 27-year-old.