Bengaluru: The 2022 IPL mega auction concluded on Sunday, with 10 franchises spending lavishly Rs 551.7 crore on 204 players over two days.
India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan (Mumbai Indians) emerged as the most expensive buy at Rs 15.25 crore, followed by pacer Deepak Chahar (Chennai Super Kings) for Rs 14 crore and batter Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders) for Rs 12.25 crore.
The action-packed Day 2 saw Punjab Kings opening their coffers to get England's T20 specialist Liam Livingstone (Rs 11.50 crore) and a futuristic investment by Mumbai Indians in an injured England fast bowler Jofra Archer (Rs 8 crore).
Singaporean Tim David (Rs 8.25 crore) and Romario Shepherd (Rs 7.75 crore) of West Indies emerged as the biggest surprise packages as they joined Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, respectively.
India U19 World Cup-winning members Raj Angad Bawa and Rajvardhan Hagargekar hit the jackpot. While Bawa was picked for Rs 2 crore by Punjab Kings, Hagargekar bagged Rs 1.5 crore from Chennai Super Kings.
Yash Dhull, who led the India U19 World Cup team, was snapped up by Delhi Capitals for Rs 50 lakh. Meanwhile, Harnoor Singh, another member of the U19 team, went unsold.
The franchises went with the current India players and in form overseas players, and didn't care much about the likes of Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina, Eoin Morgan, Marnus Labuschagne and Ishant Sharma, who all went unsold.
Punjab Kings also dig deep into their pockets to add West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith for Rs 6.5 crore. Smith was impressive in the recently concluded ODI series against India.
India's Khaleel Ahmed (Rs 5.25 crore) and Chetan Sakariya (Rs 4.2 crore) along with overseas players Rovman Powell (Rs 2.80 crore), Lungi Ngidi (Rs 50 lakh) and Tim Seifert (Rs 50 lakh) joined Delhi Capitals. The franchise also acquired the services of India's U19 World Cup-winning team member Vicky Ostwal (Rs 20 lakh).
Rajasthan Royals, who are no short of bowling talent, bought four players in four minutes before the conclusion of the two-day auction. The likes of Jimmy Neesham (Rs 1.5 crore), Nathan Coulter-Nile (Rs 2 crore), Rassie van der Dussen (Rs 1 crore) and Daryl Mitchell (Rs 75 lakh) all went to Rajasthan.
Aiden Markram was the first player to be picked on the second day of the auction for Rs 2.6 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Ajinkya Rahane, who has been struggling with his batting form, went to Kolkata Knight Riders at a base price of Rs 1 crore.
Meanwhile, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun attracted two bidders - Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians. Gujarat bid for Rs 25 lakh but then Mumbai raised it to Rs 30 lakh which turned out to be the final fee for Arjun. Interestingly, the left-arm pacer was acquired by Mumbai for Rs 20 lakh in 2021.
Chris Jordan (Rs 3.60 crore), Mitchell Santer (Rs 1.90 crore) and Devon Conway (Rs 1 crore) went to Chennai Super Kings, Marco Jansen was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 4.20 crore, Wriddhiman Saha (Rs 1.9 crore) was sold to Gujarat Titans, and K Gowtham (Rs 90 lakh) went to Lucknow Super Giants. (UNI)
