The IPL is the most-watched Twenty20 league in the world and is also known for its commercial success. Talking about the IPL season 8 auctions, the Indian Premier League 2015 auction was held in Bengaluru on Monday, 16th February.
The IPL Auction is a great show time for the teams as well as the players. This year however, the audience is not very concerned about the IPL auction as the world cup has taken over all the audience. But this auction came up with some surprises.
Here is how the auction unfolded:
Yuvraj Singh and 16 Crore:
Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh set a new record as he emerged as the costliest every buy in the IPL by going for a whopping Rs 16 crore to Delhi Daredevils. That Yuvraj, who had been bought for Rs 14 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore last year, went for such a big price was a huge surprise given the fact that he has not been selected for World Cup.
His current form, however, has been good which could have led to the franchises showing interest in him. In a relatively low key auction, Yuvraj triggered an unexpected bidding war with four teams competing for the 33-year-old cricketer’s services before Delhi sealed the deal for a record price.
Let’s see how this deal turns out for the Delhi Daredevils.
Costliest Players:
There were some more players who fetched a good price at the auction like :
- Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik (Rs 10.50 crore to Royal Challengers Bangalore)
- Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathew (Rs 7.5 crore to Delhi Daredevils)
- New Zealand pacer Trent Boult (Rs 3.80 crore to Sunrisers Hyderabad)
- Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra (Rs 3.50 crore to Delhi Daredevils)
- Australian opener Aaron Finch (Rs 3.20 crore to Mumbai Indians)
- Indian pacer Zaheer Khan (Rs 4 crore to Delhi Daredevils)
Shockingly Unsold:
I am sure you all must be disappointed after seeing these big player’s names in the unsold list:
- Kumar Sangakara
- Hashim Amla
- Mahela Jayawardhene
- Ross Taylor
- Cameron White
And many more. This is going to be the biggest shock for their fans.
Now coming to the budget part, here are the budgets that each franchise is left with, heading into the auctions for IPL 8:
Chennai Super Kings – 4.8 crore
Delhi Daredevils – 39.75 crore
Kings XI Punjab – 12.6 crore
Kolkata Knight Riders – 13.2 crore
Mumbai Indians – 10.005 crore
Rajasthan Royals – 12.75 crore
Royal Challengers Bangalore – 20.8 crore
Sunrisers Hyderabad – 21.05 crore
Teams like Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings used the maximum limit for retention of players ahead of the IPL Auction, which saw also their total auction kitty of 60 crore being reduced.
Each of Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals made one big purchase – Michael Hussey, M Vijay and Chris Morris respectively. They have spent the least but they got important players for their teams.
So some of the teams have got their squads shuffled. Now we will see in the 8th season that who is going to be 8th Champion of IPL 2015. Just cannot wait!
By Nikhil Gautam
