IPL auction: India pace bowlers in the limelight on Day 2
MUMBAI: Compared to the action-packed proceedings of the opening days when marquee names are up for grabs at IPL auctions with the teams having a big purse to splurge, the second day is usually low key with the interest mainly on who will be the next unknown name to hit the jackpot.
The record for the most expensive player was broken twice on Sunday in the IPL auction, but proceedings on Day 2 in the mega auction at Jeddah too had its moments.
The big surprise of the day came late when 13-year-old Bihar batter, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, was picked for ₹1.1 crore by Rajasthan Royals, after a bidding war with Delhi Capitals for the youngster with a base price of ₹30 lakh.
Otherwise, franchises weren’t in the mood to up their paddles when the auction resumed on the second afternoon. Except for Suryavanshi, batters were not the story of the day, though the capped batters were the first to go under the hammer. Proven names like Mayank Agarwal, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Phillips, Rovman Powell, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Kane Williamson had hardly any takers. Most went unsold in the first round.
The action truly picked up when the set of capped fast bowlers came up. It was clear that everyone was holding their money for the India pace tribe, resulting in the most exciting period of bidding. Tushar Deshpande’s name came up first and Chennai Super Kings set the tone by coming in at ₹1 crore. He has been CSK’s standout bowler for the last two seasons.
A bidding contest ensued between CSK and RR, which quickly took the price up to ₹6 crore. CSK went up to ₹6.25 crore but opted out when RR pushed the price to ₹6.50 crore. The seasoned Bhuvneshwar Kumar was next and Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants began proper bidding for the swing bowler. The bids crossed the ₹8 crore mark in no time. When MI upped their bid to ₹10.50 crore, they would have thought they had their man but Royal Challengers Bengaluru came in at ₹10.75 crore to get the pacer.
India T20 international Mukesh Kumar was always going to be an expensive pick. CSK and Punjab Kings got involved in a bidding war and raised his price to ₹6.50 crore but their effort was in vain. Delhi Capitals exercised their RTM option after PBKS raised the bid to ₹8 crore.
Having lost out on Bhuvneshwar, their first target, MI went all out and got another swing bowler, Deepak Chahar. The Rajasthan pacer has been injury prone but is currently fit and doing well his state in domestic cricket. After playing the first five rounds of Ranji Trophy, he is playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament. “I think Mumbai suits swing and my style, and there’s some seam movement. So, good to be part of this franchise. All good (on fitness),” said Chahar.
India Test bowler, Akash Deep, attracted interest from many teams before Lucknow Super Giant bought him at ₹8 crore. An attacking fast bowler in the Mohammed Shami mould, he is a great option with the new ball.
Uncapped India fast bowlers were also in demand with CSK picking Anshul Kambhoj for ₹3.4 crore and Tamil Nadu pacer Gurjapneet Singh for ₹2.2 crore. Kambhoj had hit the headlines this month for taking all 10 wickets in an innings in Haryana’s Ranji Trophy game against Kerala at Lahli, the 10/49 making him the sixth Indian to achieve the feat in first-class cricket. Gurjapneet, a tall left-arm pacer, is another product of Tamil Nadu Premier League. On his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu this season, he dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra) for a duck.
Another exciting speedster, the 6 feet 6 inches Gurnoor Singh Brar was picked up by Gujarat Titans for ₹1.3 crore, pipping PBKS and CSK. Earlier this year, Brar was called for the India team nets at Chepauk in the lead-up to the Chennai Test against Bangladesh to help the batters prepare for tall fast bowlers. He rushed some of them with pace and bounce.
Ishant Sharma was picked by Gujarat Titans and Saurashtra left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat by Sunrisers Hyderabad for their base price.
Among young batters, Priyansh Arya was bought by Punjab Kings for ₹3.8 crore. Arya first drew attention when he struck six sixes in an over in the Delhi Premier League. The capped spinners too didn’t evoke much interest. Only Allah Ghazanfar’s name caused a flutter. The 18-year-old Afghan player is seen as the next big mystery spinner from his country and went to MI for ₹4.80 crore.
