Dubai: The 2024 IPL auction was no different from the previous ones as the franchise owners did not hesitate to make the uncapped players richer by crores of rupees.
Uncapped players Sameer Rizvi and Shubham Dubey became millionaires overnight after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) buying them up for Rs 8.4 crore and Rs 5.8 crore, respectively.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) signed up Yash Dayal for Rs 5 crore. The left-arm pacer from Uttar Pradesh had registered himself at a base price of Rs 20 lakhs.
Tamil Nadu allrounder Shahrukh Khan fetched himself for Rs 7.4 crore by GT who engaged in a bidding war with the Punjab Kings.
Nomenclatured as the right-handed Suresh Raina, Rizvi became the new IPL millionaire after CSK bought him for Rs 8.40 crore. His base price was Rs 20 lakh.
CSK and GT were engaged in the bidding war before DC joined in. DC pulled out at Rs 7.6 crore, and MS Dhoni-led CSK had the last laugh.
Earlier, several former cricketers including Aakash Chopra, Abhinav Mukund, and Suresh Raina had bet on Rizvi taking home a lot of money at the auction.
Rizvi, a resident of Meerut, made headlines by smashing two centuries in the Uttar Pradesh T20 League, where he accumulated 455 runs in 9 innings for Kanpur Superstars.
The 20 years old UP lad also impressed at Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with his power-hitting stuff earlier this season. Rizvi smoked 18 sixes at an average of a six every 11 balls he faced.
The right-hander also left indelible mark in the Men's U23 Stat A tournament, smacking two tons and as many half-centuries, including a 50-ball 84 in the final to lead UP to vctory.
Another uncapped player from Jharkhand Kumar Kushagra became a new millionaire. DC landed the wicket-keeper batsman for Rs 7.2 crore after a fierce bidding battle with CSK and GT.
Earlier this year, the 19-year-old Kushagra ended the Deodhar Trophy by becoming the sixth-highest run getter, scoring 227 runs in 5 innings at a strike rate 109.13. It was studded with a half-century for East Zone in the final against South Zone.
Kushagra also revelled in Vijay Hazare trophy by helping Jharkhand overcome a 355-run target against Maharashtra with his 37-ball 67.
He also played for India's World Cup squad in 2020, and in 2022, at the age of 17, cracked a double century against Nagaland in pre-quarter Ranji to become the youngest batsman to score 250 plus in a first class innings.
For Dayal, RCB and GT were involved in a bidding war before the former secured his services for Rs 5 crore. He will be looking to make a comeback in next year's IPL, especially after he was clobbered by Rinku Singh in the last season. Rinku had smacked sixes on consecutive deliveries in the last over of the game to snatch a miraculous win for KKR.
Shahrukh was earlier released by PK, which freed up Rs 9 crore by doing so. The Tamil Nadu player had played 33 matches in the IPL for Punjab and boasts of a strike rate of 160+ in 2023, but battled with inconsistency.
Shahrukh boasts of playing well against the pacers, but has weaknesses playing against wrist-spinners. Though he had an unsatifying season with Tamil Nadu, but his value as a finisher helped him get through the auction.
He is also a useful bowler, a testimony of it was when he ended the 2023 TNPL as the highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets in 9 matches at an economy rate of 6.66.
This auction was Dubey's maiden deal in IPL. A left-handed middle-order batsman, Dubey is known as a big hitter at the death. The Vidarbha player made his T20 debut in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and his maiden List A appearance came earlier this year.
Dubey is yet to play a First-Class match. Notably, he enjoyed a sensational run in this year's SMAT as he aced the finisher's role.
Overall in T20 cricket, the 29-year-old has clobbered 485 runs at an average and strike rate of 37.30 and 145.20, respectively. Having played eight List A games, Dubey has returned with 159 runs at an average of 31.80.
A total of 333 players are going under the hammer in Dubai during the 2024 IPL auction, of which 214 are Indians and 119 are overseas cricketers.
However, the 10 teams together have only a maximum of 77 slots open, with each team allowed a roster of a maximum of 25 players.
23 players registered their base price at the maximum of Rs 2 crore with another 13 slotting themselves in the Rs 1.5 crore base price. (UNI)
