Krunal Pandya was retained by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 8.8 crore, the highest ever for an uncapped player.
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Root was one of three big names to go unsold during the early rounds of bidding, alongside West Indies opener Chris Gayle and South Africa’s Hashim Amla.
Coming into this auction, RCB who have always suffered due to lack of potency in their bowling ensured they filled up a few gaps.
Lynn was the highest-paid Australian in Saturday’s IPL auction after being bought by Kolkata Knight Riders, eclipsing speedster Mitchell Starc ($1.8 million).
He will play alongside Mitchell Starc, who was the pick of the fast bowlers in early bidding, securing a contract at the Kolkata franchise for nearly A$1.9m, just an hour before his wife Alyssa Healy blasted a women’s Big Bash century for the Sydney Sixers at Hurstville Oval. And (he) requested if we would refrain from bidding from him or using Right To Match. Overnight Jofra Archer has gone for $1.1m and Rashid Khan, a 19-year-old leg-spinner from Afghanistan, has gone for $1.4m.
They left the team hotel at around 8.20 am local time which means the auction was into nearly two hours.
Washington Sundar attracted a lot of interest from Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises like Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, and eventual winners Royal Challengers Bangalore. They also picked up Yusuf Pathan for a steal and have Wridhiman Saha keeping for them.
But like Gayle, they can be bought later in the auction, which ends on Sunday. When Shubman Gill was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs. 1.80 crore, Delhi Daredevils roped in Indian U-19 captain Prithvi Shaw for Rs. 1.2 crore. “We are restarting, we needed an all-rounder and hence we picked up Stokes”, Royals executive chairman Ranjit Borthakur said. Rahul and Pandey were the richest Indian buys on the day.
Shane Watson was signed by Chennai Super Kings for $775,600. And MS Dhoni, back to leading CSK, was keeping wicket.
In the auction so far on Day 2, many top players have been given the snub.
At this point Robin looks like their designated captain.
In Ashwin’s case the move to Kings XI Punjab could open up the possibility of him leading the franchise, given that he is an astute thinker of the game and the team is looking for a captain.
In the fast bowlers’ set, Mohammed Shami, with a base price of Rs 1 crore, went to SRH for Rs 3 crore but DD used its RTM to grab the player.
Back in the IPL fold after missing two seasons, Rajasthan Royals played their cards judiciously to ensure they have a team the fans can connect with while they retain their own unique flavour.
A big missing link in the Mumbai Indians line up is the presence of a specialist spinner.
This was a great day, though, for uncapped players.
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There are many superstars who do not get any bid after Gayle. But the youth movement that started in 2015 is still where the league seems to be headed.
