English players hit a six at IPL auction, veterans Pathan and Sharma unsold

Ben Stokes picked for Rs 14.5 crore, followed by Tymal Mills for Rs 12 crore

English cricket players seemed the flavour of the season during the 2017 edition of the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. The teams picked six England players, among them the two costliest. 

Ben Stokes, who has not played an IPL match, was aggressively bid for by five teams, ultimately going to Sanjiv Goenka’s Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) for Rs 14.5 crore. Teammate Tymal Mills, also yet to debut in IPL, was in demand by Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians. Kings XI Punjab won with a bid of Rs 12 crore. Other English players who were picked up included Jason Roy, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes. However, many of them might not be available in the second half of the tournament (after May 14), as they might have to report to their respective national teams. 

Some experts had predicted this year might not see a heated bidding, as this was the last year of the current IPL cycle. Most teams had retained their star players, and the purse available for the auction was Rs 148 crore. 

This did not stop Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and RPS from fighting for Stokes. Despite having just Rs 11.55 crore, Mumbai Indians focussed on getting the all-rounder, bidding up to Rs 9.5 crore. When the Reliance Industries-owned team bowed out, the Delhi and Hyderabad franchisees battled for the player till the latter’s bid of Rs 13 crore. Pune won the race at Rs 14.5 crore. 

Stokes is now the costliest foreign player in the history of the T-20 tournament. He is followed by Tymal Mills, snapped up by Kings XI Punjab for Rs 12 crore. Last year, the highest bid was RCB’s Rs 9-crore one for Australian Shane Watson. This was followed by Delhi Daredevils’ Rs 8.5-crore bid for all-rounder Pawan Negi. This year, Watson was retained by his team and was not in the auction pool. Negi was picked by RCB for Rs 1 crore (reserve price Rs 30 lakh) after a bidding war involving RPS, Gujarat Lions and SRH. 

Though overseas players dominated the bidding in the capped players’ pool, uncapped players were not far behind. Not only was Rashid Khan Arman the costliest uncapped player, the spinner would also be among the first from Afghanistan to play in the IPL, with Mohammad Nabi. SRH paid Rs 4 crore for Khan Arman and Rs 30 lakh (also the base price) for Nabi. 

Indian capped players Irrfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma, both IPL veterans, were unsold even after being recalled for bidding in the second round. Pathan was the most experienced IPL player up for grabs, with 102 matches. Other unsold players were New Zealand’s Ross Taylor, Brad Hogg (Australia), Marlon Samuels and Jason Holder (both from the West Indies).

The teams went into the auction with Rs 148.33 crore, and the purse at the end was Rs 57.18 crore. RPS was the highest spender at Rs 17.2 crore and the most prudent was Gujarat Lions at Rs 3.85 crore (though the team picked 11 players to complete their squad of 27).