 "IPL auctions: RCB snaps up Shane Watson for Rs 9.5 cr, Yuvi goes for Rs 7 cr")
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was sold in the Vivo IPL player auction to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 9.5 crore. Pune started the bidding for the all-rounder and were joined by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The two teams engaged in a bidding war taking the final selling price to Rs 5.5 crore before the Giants bowed out. At this point, the Mumbai Indians entered the ring and continued sparring with the RCB. The Vijay Mallya-owned team fought till the end, finally snapping up Watson for Rs 9.5 crore.
As anticipated by experts, Watson commanded a higher price than Indian southpaw Yuvraj Singh. At a base price of Rs 2 crore, Singh was also among the most anticipated players of the auction. The stylish Indian batsman who has spurred bidding wars for the past two years was off to a slow start as Mumbai Indians entered the ring quite some time after the player’s name being announced. The RCB entered the race after that and the bids went back and forth between the two teams for a while. The Mumbai Indians bowed out at Rs 5.5 crore at which point the Sunrisers entered the play for Singh. The two teams bid for a while until the RCB bowed out at Rs 7 crore, with the Hyderabad team getting Singh for less than half of what he commanded last year.
Kickstarting the player auctions for the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) the Gujarat Lions snapped up Kevin Pietersen for Rs 3.5 crore. The English cricketer was in the marquee pool of the players available for bidding at a base price of Rs 2 crore. As Richard Madley oversaw the proceedings at the ninth IPL player auction, the teams engaged in a heated battle to pick up the best players money can buy.
The second player to come up for bidding Dwayne Smith also went to the Lions at Rs 2.3 crore. He was available at a base price of Rs 50 lakh. The new teams engaged in a bid battle for the England cricketer and the West Indian with the Lions finally getting their hands on both.
The third player up for auction was Indian pacer Ishant Sharma, also available at a base price of Rs 2 crore. Pune Super Giants and Kings XI Punjab bid for the fast bowler when finally he was picked up by the Giants at Rs 3.8 crore.
Next up was New Zealander Martin Guptill. This is the right handed batsman’s debut IPL auction and he went unbid for in the first round. Any unsold players in the first round can be recalled by the teams in the accelerated round at the end of the day.
Aaron Finch, the Australian batsman was up for bidding next. Available for a base price of Rs 1 crore, the Aussie went unsold in the first round. He was followed by Ashish Nehra (base price Rs 2 crore). KXIP and the Lions once again faced off to get the Indian pacer on their side. The fast bowler ultimately went to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 5.5 crore.
The last player in the marquee pool to be auctioned was Dale Steyn, who went to the Lions for Rs 2.3 crore (base price Rs 1.5 crore).
Dinesh Karthik, who was the second most expensive player in the 2014 and 2015 auctions (base price Rs 2 crore) got an opening bid from the RCB who were joined by the Gujarat Lions in the bidding. The tepid bid match that pursued resulted in the Lions snapping up Karthik for Rs 2.3 crore).
The second set of the day’s IPL auction included specialist batsmen. The set started with Riley Russouw (base price Rs 1 crore) who went unsold. Up next was Indian Cheteshwar Pujara (base price Rs 50 lakh), who also went unsold. South African Hashim Amla, for whom this could have been the maiden IPL, also went unsold in the first round. Australian George Bailey (base price Rs 1 crore) also met with the same fate as his predecessors as teams refused to lift their batons to bid for him.
Indian batsman Subramaniam Badrinath (base price Rs 50 lakh) also remained unsold for as did Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardena. Australian Michael Hussey (Rs 2 crore base price) also failed to excite the teams and remained unsold. Usman Khwaja (base price Rs 1 crore) too remained unsold.
Next up for auctioning were players from the wicket-keeper pool. First up was Sanju Samson (base price Rs 2 crore) who finally got some response from the teams as the Gujarat Lions raised their batons and were joined by the Delhi Daredevils. The Daredevils have the deepest pockets in this year’s auction and this was the first time they entered the bidding process this morning. The GMR owned team snapped up Samson for Rs 4.2 crore at which point the Lions bowed out of the bidding.
Shane Dowrich remained unsold at a base price of Rs 30 lakh). English wicketkeeper Jos Buttler (Rs 1.5 crore) was up next and the Mumbai Indians opened the bidding for the player. Kolkata Knight Riders entered the bidding just before Mumbai could have picked up Buttler for the base price. After a heated battle, the wicketkeeper went to the Mumbai Indians for Rs 3.8 crore.
Bangladesh’s Mushfiqr Rahim followed (base price Rs 30 lakh) remained unsold as did West Indies player Johnson Charles (also at Rs 30 lakh). Australian Brad Haddin (base price Rs 1.5 crore) did not evoke any response from the teams as well, and went unsold. South African Morne van Wyk and Englishman Sam Billings (Rs 30 lakh base price each) met with the same fate as did Ben Dunk (Rs 30 lakh). Dan Brancroft from Australia remained unsold as well.
As anticipated by experts, Watson commanded a higher price than Indian southpaw Yuvraj Singh. At a base price of Rs 2 crore, Singh was also among the most anticipated players of the auction. The stylish Indian batsman who has spurred bidding wars for the past two years was off to a slow start as Mumbai Indians entered the ring quite some time after the player’s name being announced. The RCB entered the race after that and the bids went back and forth between the two teams for a while. The Mumbai Indians bowed out at Rs 5.5 crore at which point the Sunrisers entered the play for Singh. The two teams bid for a while until the RCB bowed out at Rs 7 crore, with the Hyderabad team getting Singh for less than half of what he commanded last year.
Kickstarting the player auctions for the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) the Gujarat Lions snapped up Kevin Pietersen for Rs 3.5 crore. The English cricketer was in the marquee pool of the players available for bidding at a base price of Rs 2 crore. As Richard Madley oversaw the proceedings at the ninth IPL player auction, the teams engaged in a heated battle to pick up the best players money can buy.
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The teams collectively have Rs 198 crore at their disposal in today’s auction taking place in Bengaluru. The Gujarat Lions and Pune Super Giants went into the auction with Rs 27 crore after they spent Rs 39 crore in the IPL player draft which took place earlier. Both Pune Super Giants and Gujarat Lions are the new teams in this year’s IPL after Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were banned for two years as a result of the 2013 betting and match fixing scam.
The second player to come up for bidding Dwayne Smith also went to the Lions at Rs 2.3 crore. He was available at a base price of Rs 50 lakh. The new teams engaged in a bid battle for the England cricketer and the West Indian with the Lions finally getting their hands on both.
| The Bidding Rules 1. Salary Cap - Rs 66 crore 2. Squad size - 16 to 27 players 3. Overseas player cap - maximum of 9 overseas players allowed in the sqaud; maximum of four overseas players allowed in the playing eleven |
The third player up for auction was Indian pacer Ishant Sharma, also available at a base price of Rs 2 crore. Pune Super Giants and Kings XI Punjab bid for the fast bowler when finally he was picked up by the Giants at Rs 3.8 crore.
Next up was New Zealander Martin Guptill. This is the right handed batsman’s debut IPL auction and he went unbid for in the first round. Any unsold players in the first round can be recalled by the teams in the accelerated round at the end of the day.
Aaron Finch, the Australian batsman was up for bidding next. Available for a base price of Rs 1 crore, the Aussie went unsold in the first round. He was followed by Ashish Nehra (base price Rs 2 crore). KXIP and the Lions once again faced off to get the Indian pacer on their side. The fast bowler ultimately went to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 5.5 crore.
The last player in the marquee pool to be auctioned was Dale Steyn, who went to the Lions for Rs 2.3 crore (base price Rs 1.5 crore).
Dinesh Karthik, who was the second most expensive player in the 2014 and 2015 auctions (base price Rs 2 crore) got an opening bid from the RCB who were joined by the Gujarat Lions in the bidding. The tepid bid match that pursued resulted in the Lions snapping up Karthik for Rs 2.3 crore).
The second set of the day’s IPL auction included specialist batsmen. The set started with Riley Russouw (base price Rs 1 crore) who went unsold. Up next was Indian Cheteshwar Pujara (base price Rs 50 lakh), who also went unsold. South African Hashim Amla, for whom this could have been the maiden IPL, also went unsold in the first round. Australian George Bailey (base price Rs 1 crore) also met with the same fate as his predecessors as teams refused to lift their batons to bid for him.
Indian batsman Subramaniam Badrinath (base price Rs 50 lakh) also remained unsold for as did Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardena. Australian Michael Hussey (Rs 2 crore base price) also failed to excite the teams and remained unsold. Usman Khwaja (base price Rs 1 crore) too remained unsold.
Next up for auctioning were players from the wicket-keeper pool. First up was Sanju Samson (base price Rs 2 crore) who finally got some response from the teams as the Gujarat Lions raised their batons and were joined by the Delhi Daredevils. The Daredevils have the deepest pockets in this year’s auction and this was the first time they entered the bidding process this morning. The GMR owned team snapped up Samson for Rs 4.2 crore at which point the Lions bowed out of the bidding.
Shane Dowrich remained unsold at a base price of Rs 30 lakh). English wicketkeeper Jos Buttler (Rs 1.5 crore) was up next and the Mumbai Indians opened the bidding for the player. Kolkata Knight Riders entered the bidding just before Mumbai could have picked up Buttler for the base price. After a heated battle, the wicketkeeper went to the Mumbai Indians for Rs 3.8 crore.
Bangladesh’s Mushfiqr Rahim followed (base price Rs 30 lakh) remained unsold as did West Indies player Johnson Charles (also at Rs 30 lakh). Australian Brad Haddin (base price Rs 1.5 crore) did not evoke any response from the teams as well, and went unsold. South African Morne van Wyk and Englishman Sam Billings (Rs 30 lakh base price each) met with the same fate as did Ben Dunk (Rs 30 lakh). Dan Brancroft from Australia remained unsold as well.
| PLAYER | TYPE | BASE PRICE | SELLING PRICE | TEAM |
| Shane Watson | All-Rounder | Rs 2 crore | Rs 9.5 crore | RCB |
| Yuvraj Singh | All-Rounder | Rs 2 crore | Rs 7 crore | SRH |
| Ashish Nehra | Bowler | Rs 2 crore | Rs 5.5 crore | SRH |
| Ishant Sharma | Bowler | Rs 2 crore | Rs 3.8 crore | Pune |
| Kevin Pietersen | Batsman | Rs 2 crore | Rs 3.5 crore | GL |
| Dale Steyn | Bowler | Rs 1 crore | Rs 2.3 crore | GL |
| Dwayne Smith | All-Rounder | Rs 50 lakh | Rs 2.3 crore | GL |
| Aaron Finch | Batsman | Rs 1 crore | Unsold | |
| Martin Guptill | Batsman | Rs 50 lakh | Unsold |