IPL Auction RECAP: Most Fascinating Bids
Written by: Prithvi
The biggest cricketing league is all set to commence its 15th season with 2 new franchises-Ahmedabad and Lucknow which will be led by Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul respectively. The Mega Auctions will take place on 12th and 13th of February with a total of 1,214 players having registered for it. This includes 896 Indians and 318 foreign players.
Among anticipated players, Mitchell Starc, Sam Curran, Chris Gayle, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer have not put in their names for registrations.
Composition of the Pool:-
270 players: Capped
903 players: Uncapped
41 players: Associate members
An INR 1,000 bet on either Ahmedabad and Lucknow to win IPL 2022 returns INR 11,000
Unlike today, franchises had the power to sign uncapped players out of the auction in the initial years which gave teams a significant advantage to build a strong core. There have been instances where multiple teams have fought intense battles for players on the table. Here are some of the biggest buys in the history of the tournament and story behind those picks.
Kieron Pollard
He attracted eye balls after his sensational 18-ball 54 against NSW in 2009 Champions League. His Trinidad & Tobago and national teammate Dwayne Bravo had played a major part in convincing Mumbai Indians management to sign him.
KKR, CSK, RCB aggressively bid for him but it was MI who eventually got him in the tie breaker. His final price was never disclosed. Similarly KKR picked Shane Bond using the tie breaker clause that year. Pollard has been MI’s mainstay since then and has played a lion’s share in the team winning 5 IPL trophies. He was top scorer in 2 finals. The way he has been backed through thick and thin since the inaugural season is a testament of the faith that Mumbai puts in it’s family.
Ravindra Jadeja
Prior to the 2012 auction, Pune Warriors India wanted to sign Jadeja and asked IPL Governing Council to consider him as Yuvraj’s replacement. That move was refused.
Jadeja fetched the maximum bid of $2 million in the auction. CSK and DC had gone into the tie-breaker where both were asked to bid a secret amount and CSK outbid DC. Jadeja would be paid $950,000 because it was signing amount for Kochi Tuskers Kerala and that secret bid went to BCCI’S treasury. It can be called a steal deal even at that price given how he has delivered over the years for the men in yellow.
Check out the latest IPL2022 odds here
Sunil Narine
By 2012, franchises had started investing in players purely on skill rather than their stardom. A trend which was evident in the initial years. This reflected in a move of KKR spending $700,000 for this mystery off-spinner.
He first came into picture after his performance against CSK in 2011 Champions League game where he picked 3 wickets for 8 runs from his quota of 4 overs. Dhoni’s 22-ball 7 could be taken as a measure of his accuracy and deception.
“If the limit is 2 million, go to 2 million. We don’t need anyone else” were the exact words of Gambhir to the KKR CEO Venky Mysore and co-owner Shah Rukh Khan. Sunil Narine repayed the faith shown in him by becoming the man of the tournament and lead KKR to their first ever title win. He is easily the most underrated overseas buy for an IPL team.
Andrew Flintoff
Apart from Dimitri Mascarenhas, no English player had played in the inaugural season. 2009 saw two of the biggest England superstars Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff fetch $1.95mn and $1.55mn respectively thus making them most expensive players back then. Although in 2012, the IPL chairman Lalit Modi accused the then BCCI secretary N Srinivasan of arm twisting him into rigging Flintoff’s auction. N Srinivasan later refuted the allegations calling them unsubstantial.
He ended up playing only 3 games due to a knee injury.
Varun Chakravarthy
Before becoming KKR’s go to bowler in last 2 seasons having picked up 35 wickets, Varun Chakravarthy first came into the limelight in 2019 with a shocking bid of 8.4 crores by Kings XI Punjab. Co-incidentally it was his current partner in crime Sunil Narine, who blasted him for 25 runs on debut in the very first over. A domestic product of TNPL earning himself such a huge bid was a first of its kind. A quick bidding war ensued between CSK and DC at first with CSK backing out at 3.4 crores. As soon as it was looking like he will be sold to DC, enters KXIP with a bid of 3.6 crores. Rajasthan came at 5 crores. KKR marked their presence with a 7 crore bid but in the end, KXIP after landed him at a whopping 8.4 crores after an intense battle of bids.
Complete List of Odds of all IPL Teams
Chennai Super Kings – 4.00
Mumbai Indians – 4.50
Delhi Capitals – 5.50
Royal Challengers Bangalore – 7.00
Kolkata Knight Riders – 7.50
Kings XI Punjab – 9.00
Rajasthan Royals – 9.00
Sunrisers Hyderabad – 11.00
Lucknow – 11.00
Ahmedabad – 11.00
