IPL auction 2018: The two-day marathon of Indian Premier League auction 2018 reached its end on Sunday evening. It was a tensed moment altogether as the eight franchises went hammers and tongs against each other to buy the best players who would be suitable for them. However, it was Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals who made their presence felt by buying some of the best players out there for this year’s IPL. As the curtains were drawn to IPL auction 2018, some interesting talking points emerged that might as well set the tone for the 11th season that starts on April 7. Here are the 10 taking and interesting points of IPL auction 2018:
1- KKR spent the most money (Rs 80 crore) and CSK spent the least (Rs 73.5 crore). Kolkata Knight Riders bought players like Mitchell Strac and Chris Lyn through heavy bidding and also retained Robin Uthappa and Kuldeep Yadav through RTM card.
READ| Full list of players sold and unsold
2- KKR although spent the most money bought the least players (19) while CSK bought the most players (25). Chennai Super Kings bought Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plessis using RTM and got hold of Kedar Jadhav after heavy bidding.
3- Ben Stokes emerged as the most expensive player of the season with Rajasthan Royals spending Rs 12.5 crore on the England all-rounder. The second most expensive overseas player was Mitchell Starc who was bought by KKR for Rs 9.4 cr.
READ|All cricketers bought using RTM
4- This year was for young legs as the players signed this year would be getting a contract for next three years. Interestingly, Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw were sure shot acquisitions considering the name they have made for themselves in the junior levels and the first class circuit. All-rounder Kamlesh Nagarkoti’s performances in the ongoing U-19 World Cup also gained the attention of the teams. Prithvi Shaw was bought for Rs 1.2 crore by Delhi Daredevils, Shubham Gill and Kamlesh Nagarkoti went to KKR. Another player who was the hot favourite was Shivam Mavi also bought by KKR for rs 3 cr.
5- Although it was the auction about Indian young players, the veterans also drew attention and were sold convincingly. Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson and Harbhajan Singh all were sold to RCB and CSK respectively. Also, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh found their way back home at DD and KXIP, res[pectively.
READ| IPL Auction 2018: Ben Stokes, Jaydev Unadkat most expensive players; Chris Gayle finds buyer in KXIP
6- Chris Gayle after being unsold twice was later bought by Kings XI Punjab for Rs 2 core. The IPL auction saw some of the biggest legends of the format go unsold. It includes Lasith Malinga, Ishant Sharma, Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla and Joe amongst the big names who went unsold.
7- Among the Indian players, Jaydev Unadkat became the most expensive player at Rs 11.5 crore. He also became the most expensive Indian fast-bowler in the history of IPL.
8- The market was hot for wicketkeepers and fast bowlers. Although the franchise spent their money on batsmen, it was the keepers and fast bowlers who saw the bidding wars taking place amongst the owners of the eight teams. Dinesh Karthik and Ishan Kishan were the most expensive wicketkeepers.
9- At the end of the IPL auction 2018, 169 players were sold (for 182 vacant slots). This included 113 Indians, 56 overseas, 91 capped, 77 uncapped and one Associate player. A total of 19 RTM cards were exercised and whopping Rs 431.4 crores were spent.
10- Manish Pandey and KL Rahul were the most expensive Indian batsmen at Rs 11 cr each. Krunal Pandya was the most expensive uncapped Indian player at Rs 8.8 cr. He was bought by Mumbai Indians through RTM.
