Bengaluru, (Samajweekly) Indian Premier League 2022 Mega Auction — the two-day jamboree — concluded here on Sunday with many Indian young cricketers becoming millionaires, unlike the previous editions when most franchises splashed the cash on big overseas names.
As many as seven home-grown talents were among the eleven most expensive buys. A total of 204 players were sold and Rs 551.70 crore were spent at the mega auction.
To start with, India’s wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was the most expensive player with Mumbai Indians breaking the bank to get him for Rs 15.25 crore. He became the second most expensive Indian player at an auction after Yuvraj Singh (Rs 16 crore) in 2015.
Meanwhile, Deepak Chahar was bought back by Chennai Super Kings as he got a whopping Rs 14 crore. He became the most expensive Indian fast bowler at an auction ever.
Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer went to Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 12.25 crore after deciding to not get retained by Delhi Capitals. The former Delhi captain is likely to lead KKR in the upcoming season.
England’s big-hitter Liam Livingstone is the only overseas player in the top five most expensive buys at the IPL 2022 auction. Punjab Kings bought him for Rs 11.50 crore.
Shardul Thakur, the Indian all-rounder, went to the Delhi Capitals for Rs 10.75 crore.
Meanwhile, three of the most expensive uncapped Indian players in the history of the IPL were bought in this year’s auction.
Fast bowler Avesh Khan, who is not far from making his India debut, was sold for a whopping Rs 10 crore to Lucknow Super Giants. He is the most expensive uncapped player in the history of the auction.
Tamil Nadu big-hitter Shahrukh Khan was bought back by Punjab Kings for Rs 9 crore. Whereas, Gujarat Titans paid Rs 9 crore to secure the services of all-rounder Rahul Tewatia.
However, there were some disappointments, too, for veteran cricketers like Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra. They all went unsold.
Social media is abuzz with Raina’s future now. After going unsold on the first day, the veteran batter who had a base price of Rs 2 crore, was ignored by franchises on the final day of the auction as well, which meant that Raina went unsold for the first time at an IPL auction.
This will only be the second IPL season Raina would miss since the competition began in 2008. He had also missed the IPL 2020 season after returning home due to personal reasons.
Known as ‘Mr. IPL’, Raina returned to the CSK outfit in 2021 but had a poor season during which he scored only 160 runs at an average of 17.77.
And now with age not on his side, it could mean the end of the road for Raina in the cash-rich league.
Top Buys
TEAM PLAYER TYPE PRICE
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (Wicket Keeper) R15.25cr
Chennai Super Kings: Deepak Chahar (Bowler) Rs 14cr
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (Batter) Rs12.25cr
Punjab Kings: Liam Livingstone (All-Rounder) Rs11.5cr
Delhi Capitals: Shardul Thakur (Bowler) Rs10.75cr
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Harshal Patel (All-Rounder) Rs10.75cr
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Wanindu Hasaranga (All-Rounder) Rs10.75cr
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Nicholas Pooran (Wicket Keeper) Rs10.75cr
Gujarat Titans: Lockie Ferguson (Bowler) Rs10cr
Lucknow Super Giants: Avesh Khan (Bowler) Rs10cr
Rajasthan Royals Prasidh Krishna (Bowler) Rs 10cr
