Pacers Richardson, Meredith stunned by 'life-changing' IPL deals

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Jhye Richardson was "mentally exhausted" and Riley Meredith left "dumbfounded" after both Australian fast bowlers struck it rich at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Chennai on Thursday.

Punjab Kings splashed out 140 million Indian rupees ($1.93 million) for Richardson and agreed an 80 million deal for uncapped Meredith.

Both pacers were keeping tabs on the auction from their quarantine in a Christchurch hotel ahead of Australia's Twenty20 series in New Zealand.

"I mentally exhausted myself of all these emotions of feeling sick and excited," Richardson told a video conference.

"It's life-changing to be honest.

"Your emotions take over and you double check it, you triple check and quadruple check it."

"I was scribbling on papers, nervous hands, still sinking in..."

The 24-year-old missed the 2019 ODI World Cup with a shoulder injury but is determined to stake his claim for the T20 World Cup in India later this year with a strong IPL display.

"The goal for me is to play test cricket but whilst I'm not playing that, what's happening in front of me is the most important thing and for me at the moment, that's T20 cricket," he said.

In another room at the same hotel, Meredith was using an online currency converter to figure out how much he would receive.

"I was on Face Time with my girlfriend at the time and we just absolutely couldn't believe it was happening," said Meredith.

"It was like it was fake, to be honest. We're both pretty dumbfounded."

Fellow Australian Glenn Maxwell joined Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1.96 million while South African all-rounder Chris Morris broke all auction records with his $2.24 million move to Rajasthan Royals.

This year's IPL is scheduled to be played in April-May though exact dates have not been announced yet.

($1 = 72.52 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford)