IPL playerAustralia2013 to 2018
Mitchell Johnson
On scorecards: MG Johnson · Right-hand bat
Mitchell Johnson, a bowler, played six IPL seasons for three franchises. Two titles came along the way.
The arrival
Mitchell Johnson's first IPL season was 2013, with Mumbai Indians, a signing made outside the auction.
That first season brought 17 matches, 39 runs and 24 wickets at 7.17 an over, and ended with Mumbai Indians as champions. It would stay the best season of the career with the ball.
The peak
The best season was 2013, for Mumbai Indians: 24 wickets at 7.17 runs an over, while the league's bowlers went for 7.51, with best figures of 3 for 27. Mumbai Indians won the title that year. Two seasons brought 15 wickets or more (2013 and 2014).
Franchise by franchise
2013, Mumbai Indians. 17 matches and 24 wickets; champions in 2013.
2014 to 2016, Kings XI Punjab. Bought at the 2014 auction for ₹6.50 cr. 26 matches and 29 wickets.
2017, Mumbai Indians, second time round. Bought at the 2017 auction for ₹2 cr. 5 matches and 7 wickets; champions in 2017.
2018, Kolkata Knight Riders. Bought at the 2018 auction for ₹2 cr. 6 matches and 2 wickets.
4 spells with three franchises in all. The longest was with Kings XI Punjab, 2014 to 2016.
How the wickets came
With the ball, 62 wickets in 1,244 deliveries, at 8.24 runs an over against a league rate of 7.96 for the same seasons: 0.28 an over more expensive than the typical bowler of the time.
43.3% of the balls Mitchell Johnson bowled were dots, a higher share than 95% of the 150 bowlers with 500 balls or more; a wicket came every 19.9 balls.
The fielding record: 15 catches and 4 run-outs.
At the auction
Mitchell Johnson went under the hammer four times. The highest price was ₹6.50 cr, paid by Kings XI Punjab in 2014, more than 3 times the base price. Being bought did not always mean playing: no match followed for Mumbai Indians in 2012.
Seasons without an auction entry were played under a retention, a trade or a signing made outside the auction.
The legacy
Mitchell Johnson made 54 IPL appearances, the last for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018, and won 2 player-of-the-match awards.
Season by season
| Season | Team | M | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50/100 | Wkts | Econ | Best | Ct | POTM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Mumbai Indians | 17 | 39 | 11 | 9.8 | 108.3 | 0/0 | 24 | 7.17 | 3/27 | 7 | 2 | Champions |
| 2014 | Kings XI Punjab | 14 | 56 | 16* | 18.7 | 112.0 | 0/0 | 17 | 8.15 | 2/19 | 4 | ||
| 2015 | Kings XI Punjab | 9 | 31 | 13* | 7.8 | 86.1 | 0/0 | 10 | 9.33 | 2/23 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | Kings XI Punjab | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2.5 | 35.7 | 0/0 | 2 | 9.49 | 1/35 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | Mumbai Indians | 5 | 20 | 13* | – | 117.7 | 0/0 | 7 | 7.05 | 3/26 | 1 | Champions | |
| 2018 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 | 16 | 12* | – | 145.4 | 0/0 | 2 | 10.29 | 1/30 | 2 |
Franchise journey
- Mumbai Indians: 2013
- Kings XI Punjab: 2014 to 2016
- Mumbai Indians: 2017
- Kolkata Knight Riders: 2018
Ball-by-ball detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Dot balls faced | 46.3% |
| Balls per four | 16.4 |
| Balls per six | 23.4 |
| Dot balls bowled | 43.3% |
| Balls per wicket | 19.9 |
| Catches | 15 |
| Run-outs | 4 |
| Stumpings | 0 |
At the auction
| Auction | Set | Base price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | – | ₹1.50 cr | Sold to Mumbai Indians for ₹1.50 cr (US$300k) |
| 2014 | M1 | ₹2 cr | Sold to Kings XI Punjab for ₹6.50 cr |
| 2017 | – | ₹2 cr | Sold to Mumbai Indians for ₹2 cr |
| 2018 | FA1 | ₹2 cr | Sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹2 cr |
Sources
- CricArcade IPL season statistics
- CricArcade IPL auction archive
- Kaggle IPL Complete Match Dataset 2008-2026, ball-by-ball, cross-checked against Cricsheet