The left-armer was sparingly used by KKR in IPL 2025
Spencer Johnson was coming off a good season for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League (BBL) 2024-25, having claimed 13 wickets from seven matches. The left-arm pacer was finally getting the chances he had worked for close to a decade, having featured for Australia in the T20Is against Pakistan, New Zealand, and the West Indies and claiming 12 wickets from six matches. This also included a superb 5-26 at the SCG against Pakistan.
When Mitchell Starc pulled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 due to an injury concern, Johnson became the like-for-like replacement for the tall, left-armer with swing and pace.
But his auction buy for INR 2.8 crore didn’t reflect his chances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Johnson played just four matches in total as KKR struggled with the pace-bowling combinations and managed to get a solitary wicket for the trouble of bowling 21 overs at an economy of 11 and a sorry average of 133.
His inexperience at batting heavens in India showed as he struggled to find rhythm against batters who were used to the conditions.
KKR are likely to let the southpaw go before the upcoming IPL 2026 auction. Here are three teams that could bid for Spencer Johnson.
The Royals have struggled throughout IPL 2025 due to their bowlers never firing as a unit. Their strike bowlers were either failing to get wickets or their support bowlers were leaking runs. When one thing seemed fine, the other department started haemorrhaging. At the end, it was only thanks to a handful of good performances that helped them finish slightly above the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). They really needed a pacer who could deliver them good swinging spells with the new ball and land the toe-crushers at the death. Johnson can do both of those.
SRH couldn’t chalk out a good plan for their 2025 campaign after reaching the final in the previous editions, as their go-for-broke approach to games crumbled very early in the season. They need some depth in the pace-bowling department to keep the competition for places, as well as finding Impact Player substitutions who can be consistent. Having Johnson as a back-up plan is a great choice as the SRH aim to continue their form at the end of the season into the 2026 edition.
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If there was one department where LSG needed variety, it was their bowling department. Before the start of IPL 2025, they had injuries to four of the five frontline pacers in the squad and were able to pull off good performances despite their absence. When those main bowlers returned, it became apparent they lacked diversity in terms of skills. They were able to beat the top teams only once in a while, but it was mostly down to their powerful top-order batters. Will O’Rourke’s arrival was late in the season, and they will be looking for bowlers like Johnson who can hit the deck hard and control the situations at the death.
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