IPL playerEngland2016 to 2022
Sam Billings
On scorecards: SW Billings · Right-hand bat
Sam Billings, a batter, played five IPL seasons for three franchises. One title came along the way.
The arrival
Sam Billings arrived through the auction: Delhi Daredevils paid ₹30 lakh, the base price.
That first season brought 5 matches and 88 runs.
The peak
The high point with the bat was 2022, for Kolkata Knight Riders: 169 runs at an average of 24.1, striking at 122.5 in a season when the league as a whole struck at 134.2, and a highest score of 36.
Franchise by franchise
2016 to 2017, Delhi Daredevils. Bought at the 2016 auction for ₹30 lakh. 11 matches and 226 runs.
2018 to 2019, Chennai Super Kings. Bought at the 2018 auction for ₹1 cr. 11 matches and 108 runs; champions in 2018.
2022, Kolkata Knight Riders. Bought at the 2022 auction for ₹2 cr. 8 matches and 169 runs.
3 spells with three franchises in all. The longest was with Delhi Daredevils, 2016 to 2017. 2020 and 2021 are missing from the record: seasons without an IPL appearance.
How the runs came
Across the career, Sam Billings struck at 131.0. The league around those same seasons, weighted by how much batting each one involved, struck at 134.3, so Sam Billings scored about 3 runs per hundred balls slower than the typical batter of the time. 56% of the runs came in fours and sixes: 40 fours and 20 sixes.
The fielding record: 19 catches, 1 run-out and 1 stumping.
At the auction
Sam Billings went under the hammer six times, bought four times and left unsold twice. The highest price was ₹2 cr, paid by Delhi Capitals in 2021. The price climbed with the reputation: ₹30 lakh in 2016, ₹2 cr by 2022. Being bought did not always mean playing: no match followed for Delhi Capitals in 2021.
Seasons without an auction entry were played under a retention, a trade or a signing made outside the auction.
The legacy
Sam Billings made 30 IPL appearances, the last for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022, and won 1 player-of-the-match award.
Season by season
| Season | Team | M | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50/100 | Wkts | Econ | Best | Ct | POTM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Delhi Daredevils | 5 | 88 | 54 | 22.0 | 137.5 | 1/0 | – | – | – | 3 | ||
| 2017 | Delhi Daredevils | 6 | 138 | 55 | 23.0 | 132.7 | 1/0 | – | – | – | 4 | ||
| 2018 | Chennai Super Kings | 10 | 108 | 56 | 13.5 | 138.5 | 1/0 | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | Champions |
| 2019 | Chennai Super Kings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | – | 0/0 | – | – | – | 1 | ||
| 2022 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 8 | 169 | 36 | 24.1 | 122.5 | 0/0 | – | – | – | 7 |
Franchise journey
- Delhi Daredevils: 2016 to 2017
- Chennai Super Kings: 2018 to 2019
- Kolkata Knight Riders: 2022
Ball-by-ball detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Dot balls faced | 35.8% |
| Balls per four | 9.7 |
| Balls per six | 19.4 |
| Catches | 19 |
| Run-outs | 1 |
| Stumpings | 1 |
At the auction
| Auction | Set | Base price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | – | ₹30 lakh | Sold to Delhi Daredevils for ₹30 lakh |
| 2018 | WK1 | ₹1 cr | Sold to Chennai Super Kings for ₹1 cr |
| 2021 | WK2 | ₹2 cr | Sold to Delhi Capitals for ₹2 cr |
| 2022 | – | ₹2 cr | Sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹2 cr |
| 2024 | WK2 | ₹1 cr | Unsold |
| 2025 | WK3 | ₹1.50 cr | Unsold |
Sources
- CricArcade IPL season statistics
- CricArcade IPL auction archive
- Kaggle IPL Complete Match Dataset 2008-2026, ball-by-ball, cross-checked against Cricsheet