IPL Auction 2019: New Names Bagged the Highest Bids

It is still winter season but it seems that summer just set in, because 2019 IPL auction was held today morning at Jaipur and streamed live on Star Sports. 351 cricket players from across the globe had competed for 70spots for the next IPL season. 8 franchises had competed one against each other to ensure that they had the right set of players for the big game.

Base Price

Rupees 2 crores was fixed as the highest base price and only 9 players were kept under this bracket.  These players include some big names like SamCurran, Corey Anderson, Chris Woakes, Shaun Marsh, Lasith Malinga etc. Indian fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat had the highest base price among Indian players with a base price of 1.5 crores. Next to him is dashing left-hand batsman Yuvraj Singh along with Axar Patel and Md. Shami with a price of 1 crore.

Auction Highlights

Once again this year JaydevUnadkat was sold for the highest price of whopping 8.4 crores, though a slump from 11.5 from last year. He was bought back by Rajasthan Royals after few minutes of intense bidding for him by all the franchises. Besides him, VarunChakrovarty, Tamil Nadu’s mystery spinner was not only going to play his debut IPL but stood at the top of the ladder today for being sold at 8.4 crore rupees. Kings Eleven Punjab had high hopes on him for the upcoming IPL season and even cricket fans are eager to witness his magic spells on the field. Next highlight was Shivam Dubey’s purchase by Mumbai Indians for 5 crores. Dubey was an impressive all-rounder with impeccable record at national level.

Other notable purchases of the auction were Prayas Ray Barman, sixteen-year-old leg-spinner bought by RoyalChallengers Bangalore after his outstanding performance in lastly held Vijay Hazare trophy. Prabhisimran Singh, wicket-keeper was bought by Kings XI Punjab for 4.8 crores.

Among foreigners Carlos Braithwaite topped the list with 5 crores purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders, Mohit Sharma by Chennai Super Kings for 5 crores, Mohammed Shami for 4.8 crores by RoyalChallengers Bangalore and Nicholas Pooran bought by Kings XI Punjab for 4.2crores.

Big Names that Went Unsold

It was definitely an unfortunate day for big players like Brendon McCullum, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Angelo Mathews, Shaun Marsh and Hashim Amla. The entire auction was dominated by young Indian cricketers for whom the franchises competed against vigorously.

Yuvraj Singhh though left unsold for the first round, he was bought by Mumbai Indians for 1 crore in the consequent round. Similarly, Malinga after serving Mumbai Indians as bowling mentor in the last IPL season was once again back into Mumbai Indians team all equipped with his deadly Yorkers to unleash on the batsmen. 

So, what do you think, did the franchises made their right decisions and got the best set of players? Well, we need to wait and see whether the high bid players can justify the amount what they are paid for. But one thing’s for sure we are going to witness once again raining sixes and fours in 2019 IPL.