Muscat: On a day of frenetic bidding action at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction 2022 in Bangalore, Englishmen Liam Livingstone (INR 11.5 cr) and Jofra Archer (8 cr), West Indians Romario Shepherd (7.75 cr) and Odean Smith along with the current hot property India U-19s made all the headlines and came away with big bucks.
With 439 players up for bids on the concluding day, most teams were going to pick up their core group of players.
Big-hitting batsman Livingstone was lapped up by the Punjab Kings after some heavy duty bidding and the same franchise clinched the deal for another overseas power hitter Odean Smith for 6 crore.
Mumbai Indians, who started off the day slowly and seemed very strategic in their plans, got the services of potent strike bowler Jofra Archer for 8 crore and Singapore batsman Tim David for 8.25 crore in what were very worthy buys.
The surprise package of the day was Romario Shepherd after he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad after a fierce bidding war for 7.75 crore.
CHAHAR MAKES IT TO CSK
Earlier, apart from Ishan Kishan's whopping sum of 15.25 crore paid by the Mumbai Indians, it was Deepak Chahar who made all the news.
The India all-rounder was picked up by his current team Chennai Super Kings for 14 crore as CSK broke the bank to bring one of their most sought after players back into the fold. The deal made Chahar the most expensive Indian bowler in the IPL.
"When I reached till 14 [crore], I was thinking I should not go for more than this," Chahar told Star Sports. "If CSK pulls out, then I will feel very sad. I wanted to play for CSK because I've not imagined myself playing in any other colour than yellow. At one time I was thinking it's too much. As a CSK player, I also want that we should build a good team, so after 13 [crore], I was actually thinking the bidding should stop and then CSK can buy some other players"
INDIA-U19s ENTER BIG LEAGUE
Three members of the U-19 World Cup winning Indian team members who were registered in the last minute came away with good deals.
Star batsman Raj Bawa was picked up by Punjab Kings for 2 crore and Rajvardhan Hangargekar was bought by Chennai Super Kings for 1.5 crore.
Meanwhile, skipper Yash Dhull was taken by Delhi Capitals for 50 lakh as the U-19s expectedly made an impact at the mega auction.
Among the senior Indian players, left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed was lapped up by Delhi Capitals for 5.25 crore while the beleaguered batsman Ajinkya Rahane was taken by Kolkata Knight Riders for 1 crore.
CSK bought allrounder Shivam Dube for 4 crore while Vijay Shankar went to Gujarat Titans for 1.4 crore.
SRI LANKANS SHINE
The likes of Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana and Chamika Karunaratne bagged IPL deals as well.
Pace bowler Chameera was bought by the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants for 2 crore while Theekshana was picked up by Chennai Super Kings for 70 lakhs. Karunaratne went to Kolkata Knight Riders for 50 lakhs.
Earlier on Saturday, Wanindu Hasaranga was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a healthy 10.5 crore.
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