The much-awaited mega-auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 commenced earlier today in Bengaluru with a set of 10 marquee players.
Many big names in world cricket went under the hammer in the auction room. While many players have got a big bag in the auction, we have also seen players going unsold. All the ten franchises were involved in a tough table war to get the right men in their squad.
Some players got sold out at their base price, while few were there who made all the franchises break their banks to get them in their squad. On that note, let's have a look at the top 5 most expensive buys of the day.
Ishan Kishan (Base price INR 2 crore)
The 23-year old wicket-keeper batter rocked the charts among the most expensive buys of the first day of the IPL 2022 mega auction. There was absolutely no doubt over Ishan Kishan getting a big price in the auction, and precisely that happened during the bidding process in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Almost four franchises, namely -- Mumbai Indians (MI), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Gujarat Titans (GT) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), engaged in a bidding war for the left-handed batter.
Eventually, Mumbai Indians won the battle and Ishan Kishan went back to the Rohit Sharma-led side for a whopping INR 15.25 crore.
Following this contract, the Patna-born has become the fourth most expensive player and second amongst the Indians to be bought at the IPL auctions, including all seasons.
Most Expensive Players in IPL Auction History:
Chris Morris: INR 16.25 Crore
Yuvraj Singh: INR 16 Crore
Pat Cummins: INR 15.5 Crore
Ishan Kishan: INR 15.25 Crore
Kyle Jamieson: INR 15 Crore
Ben Stokes: INR 14.5 Crore
Read More: Tata IPL 2022 Auction Live Updates: Players Sold, Unsold, Purse Remaining & Full Team Details
Deepak Chahar (Base price INR 2 crore)
The Indian bowling all-rounder set an amazing benchmark on Saturday at the IPL 2022 players’ auction as he was involved in a mega bidding war involving Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Rajasthan Royals (RR), SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC).
Eventually, Chennai Super Kings won the bid and got their hands on Deepak Chahar for a whopping sum of INR 14 crore, becoming the highest-paid bowler in the ongoing auction.
Chahar has undoubtedly signed a great deal as he will now reunite with MS Dhoni & Co in the upcoming season and become part of the second most successful IPL franchise in the tournament.
Read More: TATA IPL 2022 Auction: CSK buy back Chahar, Bravo, Uthappa & Rayudu; Purse of INR 20.45 Cr remains
Shreyas Iyer (Base price INR 2 crore)
A regular performer in the IPL, Shreyas Iyer got a new franchise on the first day of the IPL 2022 mega auction as Kolkata Knight Riders acquired his services for Rs 12.25 crore. Following this deal, the 27-year old became the third most expensive buy of the day.
The bidding battle to take Iyer in the team happened between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR, but KKR looked determined enough to get the right-handed batter in the side and eventually they got him after a few minutes of bidding war.
Under Iyer's leadership, Delhi Capitals made it to the finals in the 2020 season. There were some speculations that Shreyas Iyer wanted to lead the side, but the owners wanted Rishabh Pant to continue as the skipper. Hence, Iyer had to leave Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.
His desire of leading a team might come true as Kolkata based franchise is currently looking for a captain too and given Iyer's leadership skills, he could be soon announced as the skipper of KKR.
Read More: Tata IPL 2022 Mega-Auction Day 1: PBKS pick Dhawan, Bairstow, Rabada; Purse of INR 28.65 Cr remains
Shardul Thakur (Base price INR 2 crore)
Indian pacer Shadul Thakur was involved in a heavy bidding war before moving to his new franchise, Delhi Capitals for IPL 2022. The franchise got the services of an ex-CSK man for Rs. 10.75 crores.
Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings engaged in an exciting battle to get him in their squad. Shardul Thakur kept a base price of Rs. 2 crores for himself ahead of the mega auction.
Lord Shardul as he is popularly known among fans, is one of the regular members of the ODI and T20I squads for India currently. The Palghar-born grabbed 21 wickets in 16 games in IPL 2021 at an average of 25.01 and finished as the team’s top wicket-taker. Overall, the right-arm medium pacer has played 61 matches in IPL and picked 67 wickets at an average of 27.87.
Harshal Patel (Base price INR 2 crore)
Harshal Patel, who was hailed as Purple Patel in the 2021 edition of the IPL has been signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 10.75 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction.
A bidding war for Harshal took place between RCB, and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), and eventually the former got their hands on the purple cap holder of the previous season of the tournament.
Harshal Patel kept a base price of Rs. 2 crores and his base price was lifted to 8.5 crores in no time with RCB and SRH going at it. He was part of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the previous edition where he scalped 32 wickets in 15 games and emerged as the top wicket-taker in the season. With this, Harshal Patel became the fifth costliest buy of the day.
Read More: TATA IPL 2022 Auction: RR pick Hetmyer, Boult, Prasidh Krishna as Top Picks for this season
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