The much-awaited mini-auction for the upcoming 14th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) has finally concluded in Chennai which witnessed South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris becoming the costliest ever player in the league’s history.
Morris (Base Price 75 lakh) was bagged by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore while Karnataka all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham (Base Price Rs 20 lakh) became the costliest Indian uncapped player after he pocketed by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 9.25.
Meanhwile, India Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara also got a buyer for the first time since 2014 after being sold to Chennai Super Kings at his base price of Rs 50 lakh.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians snapped Sachin Tendulkar’s son –Arjun Tendulkar at his base price of Rs 20 Lakh.
Before Morris, another all-rounder — Australia’s Glenn Maxwell (Base Price Rs 2 crore), drew an intense bidding war but finally went to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs 14.25 crore.
Punjab Kings, which had went into the auction with the maximum purse, spent Rs 14 crore to rope in Australian pacer Jhye Richardson, who has played two Tests, 13 ODIs and nine T20Is for his national side.
Earlier, Richardson was the leading wicket-taker in the recent Big Bash League (BBL).
The costliest player in the IPL remains RCB and Team India skipper Virat Kohli, who retained for Rs 17 crore by his franchise.
A look at how the the teams performed at the mini-auction:
Chennai Super Kings: K Gowtham (9.25 crore), Moeen Ali (7 crore), Cheteshwar Pujara (50 lakh), K Bhagath Varma (20 lakh), C Hari Nishaanth (20 lakh), M Harisankar Reddy (20 lakh)
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shakib Al Hasan (3.2 crore), Harbhajan Singh (2 crore), Ben Cutting (75 lakh), Karun Nair (50 lakh), Pawan Negi (50 lakh), Sheldon Jackson (20 lakh), Venkatesh Iyer (20 lakh), Vaibhav Arora (20 lakh)
Mumbai Indians: Nathan Coulter Nile (5 crore), Adam Milne (3.2 crore), Piyush Chawla (2.4 crore), James Neesham (50 lakh), Yudhvir Charak (20 lakh), Marco Jansen (20 lakh), Arjun Tendulkar (20 lakh)
Delhi Capitals: Tom Curran (5.25 crore), Steven Smith (2.2 crore), Sam Billings (2 crore), Umesh Yadav (1 crore), Ripal Patel (20 lakh), Vishnu Vinod (20 lakh), Lukman Meriwala (20 lakh), M Siddharth (20 lakh)
Punjab Kings: Jhye Richardson (14 crore), Riley Meredith (8 crore), Shahrukh Khan (5.25 crore), Moises Henriques (4.2 crore), Dawid Malan (1.5 crore), Fabian Allen (75 lakh), Jalaj Saxena (30 lakh), Saurabh Kumar (20 lakh), Utkarsh Singh (20 lakh)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Kyle Jamieson (15 crore), Glenn Maxwell (14.25 crore), Dan Christian (4.8 crore), Sachin Baby (20 lakh), Rajat Patidar (20 lakh), Mohammed Azharuddeen (20 lakh), Suyash Prabhudesai (20 lakh), KS Bharat (20 lakh)
Rajasthan Royals: Chris Morris (16.25 crore), Shivam Dube (4.4 crore), Chetan Sakariya (1.2 crore), Mustafizur Rahman (1 crore), Liam Livingstone (75 lakh), Akash Singh (20 lakh), KC Cariappa (20 lakh), Kuldip Yadav (20 lakh)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kedar Jadhav (2 crore), Mujeeb ur Rahman (1.5 crore), J Suchith (30 lakh)a