The highly anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction at the Hotel ITC Gardenia in Bangalore, has concluded. In the mega auction, a total of 204 players went under the hammer. There were 137 Indian players and 67 foreign players. The ten franchises spent a total of INR 551,70,00,000 in the highly entertaining mega auction. A total of 108 players received a bid of more than INR 1 crore and 11 players broke the barrier of INR 10 crore.
The Indian youngster, Ishan Kishan became the most expensive player to be purchased by the Mumbai Indians (MI) in an auction for INR 15.25 crore. Kishan is now the second most expensive Indian player ever bought at the IPL auction, second to Yuvraj Singh (16 crores in 2015).
Uncapped players received massive interest from the franchises. Avesh Khan, Shahrukh Khan, and Rahul Tewatia were the three uncapped players that waged a bidding war in the auction.
Avesh Khan – INR 10 crore – Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
Avesh Khan, the fast bowler who is on the verge of making his India debut, was bought by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a whopping INR 10 crore. He is the most expensive uncapped player in the auction’s history. He broke Krishnappa Gowtham’s record when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) picked him in the 2021 mini-auction for INR 9.25 crore.
The Madhya Pradesh fast bowler received a more than 25-fold increase over his base price of Rs 20 lakh.
Despite proving his worth with the ball in last season’s IPL, Avesh was not retained by the Delhi Capitals (DC). He finished the tournament as the second-highest wicket-taker, with 24 wickets from 16 matches. He could consistently clock 145kph and match the South African pacers, Kagiso Rabada and Andre Nortje, which propelled him to prominence.
While Chennai and Lucknow were the first to make a bid for the pacer, MI joined the battle as the bid surpassed INR 4 crore. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) showed some interest after a slugfest between Mumbai and Lucknow, with the bid reaching Rs 9.75 crore. Lucknow eventually got him on board adding depth to their bowling unit.
Shahrukh Khan – INR 9 crore – Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Shahrukh Khan, the attacking batsman, was bought by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for INR 9 crore. The Tamil Nadu cricketer spent his last season with PBKS. Shahrukh’s base price in the auction was INR 40 lakh. However, he was eventually sold for 22.5 times more of his base price after a bidding war.
The defending champions were the first to bid for him. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) joined further, which escalated the bidding war to INR 2 crore before a brief break.
PBKS entered the bidding at INR 2.60 crore, which led to an intense battle with CSK. The bidding war continued until Chennai finally gave up and Punjab got the all-rounder on board.
Last year, the right-handed batsman scored 153 runs in 11 IPL matches, averaging 21.85. He also played a few exciting cameos for the team while batting. His hard-hitting ability will undoubtedly come in handy for Punjab in the upcoming season.
Rahul Tewatia – INR 9 crore – Gujarat Titans (GT)
Rahul Tewatia, who shot to fame in IPL 2020 with a magical 31-ball 53 in an emphatic chase against the Punjab-based team, was also sold for more than 20 times his base price of INR 40 lakh. He was signed by the Gujarat Titans for a fee of INR 9 crore.
In the previous edition of the IPL, the 28-year-old all-rounder appeared 14 times for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). After a heated bidding war between the Titans and the CSK, he was selected by the Gujarat-based franchise.
Tewatia has 48 IPL appearances under his belt. The lower middle-order batsman will be a huge help for Hardik Pandya in the death overs in IPL 2022.