Ishan Kishan emerged as the Indian cricketer with the most auction foresight as the young wicket-keeper batsman has become the most expensive player of the 2022 IPL auction.
The 23-year-old was released by Mumbai Indians and, according to reports, refused to accept the offers made to him by Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Kings, and instead chose to return to the auction pool. A decision that paid the richest of dividends as he was bought by Mumbai for Rs 15.25 crore on Saturday. Such was Mumbai's single-minded focus on buying Ishan back that they did not buy a single player from the first 40 that went under the hammer on Saturday morning. This included the 'marquee set' of 10 of the auction's best players and also the sets of the Rs 2 crore base price batsmen and all-rounders.
Also making a comeback to his previous team was Deepak Chahar who Chennai bought for Rs 14 crore while Shreyas Iyer joined a new team, KKR, for Rs 12.25 crore.
Liam Livingstone was picked up by Punjab Kings on Day 2 of the auction for Rs 11.50 crore, also making him the most expensive pick of the day.
Former Delhi Capitals bowler Avesh Khan too became part of the Rs 10 crore club, bagging exactly that amount from Lucknow Super Giants, that now has made him the most expensive uncapped player in IPL history.
A total of 388.10 crore was spent on Day 1 of the auction with a total of 74 players being bought.
Day 2 will see 63 more players going under the hammer before the auction moves to the 'accelerated' stage where teams submit the list of players they are likely to bid for from the remaining list, and also the players that went unsold.
Most Expensive Players of IPL Auction 2022
Ishan Kishan, Rs 15.25 Crore - Mumbai Indians
Deepak Chahar, Rs 14.00 Crore - Chennai Super Kings
Shreyas Iyer, Rs 12.25 Crore - Kolkata Knight Riders
Liam Livingstone, Rs 11.50 Crore - Punjab Kings
Shardul Thakur, Rs 10.75 Crore - Delhi Capitals
Wanindu Hasaranga, Rs 10.75 Crore - Royal Challengers Bangalore
Harshal Patel, Rs 10.75 Crore - Royal Challengers Bangalore
Nicholas Pooran, Rs 10.75 Crore - Sunrisers Hyderabad
Lockie Ferguson, Rs 10 Crore - Gujarat Titans
Prasidh Krishna, Rs 10 Crore - Rajasthan Royals
Avesh Khan, Rs 10 Crore - Lucknow Super Giants
1. Ishan Bought by Mumbai Indians
After being released by Mumbai Indians following the 2021 IPL season, Ishan Kishan was bought back by the team for a whopping Rs 15.25 crore, making him IPL auction's second-most expensive Indian player. His base price was Rs 2 crore.
23-year-old batting sensation grabbed the spotlight after hitting 16 sixes in a Ranji Trophy Match against Delhi. He has played 61 IPL matches and scored 1452 runs, including nine fifties.
2. Deepak Chahar Returns to Chennai
After being released by Chennai Super Kings, Deepak Chahar will return to the franchise as their second highest-paid player of the season, behind Ravindra Jadeja.
Chahar was bought for Rs 14 crore on Day 1 of the 2022 IPL auction and that is just 2 crores short of Jadeja's Rs 12 crore salary.
His base price was set at Rs 2 crore and the bidding was started by Hyderabad and Delhi. The two franchises came out all guns blazing as Chahar's value breached the 10-crore mark quickly.
Hyderabad then backed out while Chennai entered the fray. Rajasthan joined at Rs 13.25 crore but Chennai managed to make the winning bid at Rs 14 crore.
3. Iyer Joins KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders, who were looking to buy their new leader, bought Shreyas Iyer for Rs 12.25 crore from the marquee list.
Iyer led Delhi Capitals in the 2020 season and took the team to the final, which they lost to five-time champions Mumbai Indians. He underwent a surgery and had to miss the first half of IPL 2021 and when he made his comeback in the UAE leg, Delhi had elected to continue with Rishabh Pant as their long-term skipper. The 27-year-old was thus released by Delhi and BCCI put him in the 'marquee' list that started the auction.
As expected, there was an intense bidding war for Iyer. Bangalore, Delhi and Lucknow jumped in early with Kolkata Knight Riders coming into the mix later, joined by Gujarat Titans. In the end, Kolkata bagged him for Rs 12.15 crore, also possibly, finding their new captain
4. Liam Livingstone Most Expensive on Day 2
England's power-hitting all-rounder Liam Livingstone hit the jackpot on day two of the 2022 IPL auction, earning a Rs 11.50 crore payday.
In the first round of Sunday's auction proceedings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings showed intense interest with Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans jumping into the aggressive bidding war.
Eventually, Punjab bagged him for a whopping INR 11.50 crores. Livingstone was with Rajasthan Royals in the previous season of IPL and has now become the highest-paid overseas player He had a great 2021, where he was the 'Player of the Tournament' while playing for Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural edition of The Hundred.
5. Delhi Bag Lord Shardul
Starting at his base price of Rs 2 crore, the former Chennai Super Kings player got bids quickly from Punjab, Delhi, and Gujarat.
Even Chennai joined the race for a bit before it became a two-way battle between Punjab and Delhi. Punjab stayed solid till the end but Delhi managed to bag him for Rs 10.75 crore, their most expensive buy of the auction.
6. RCB Buy Back Wanindu Hasaranga
Sri Lanka leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs 10.75 crore, from his base price of Rs 1 crore. The move meant Hasaranga was reunited with the team he represented in IPL 2021.
The spinner had played only two matches for RCB last season and was even released by the franchise during the knockouts stage.
7. Harshal Bags Rs 10.75 Crore Contract
Another player bought back by RCB was Harshal Patel, who was IPL 2021's highest wicket-taker.
Patel had set his base price at Rs 2 crore and saw some fierce bidding from Hyderabad and Chennai before RCB bought another player for Rs 10.75 crore.
Interestingly, RCB had retained only three players before the auction and had one spot left. Had they retained Harshal or Wanindu, they would have saved at least Rs 5 crores.
8. Nicholas Pooran Becomes Sunrisers Hyderabad's Big Buy
Sunrisers Hyderabad bought their wicket-keeper for Rs 10.75 crore with Nicolas Pooran also being their most expensive buy of the 2022 IPL auction.
Chennai Super Kings and Hyderabad got into a bidding war to buy Pooran before Kolkata made a surprise entry. However, Hyderabad battled hard to buy Pooran, who averaged just 7.72 in the 2021 edition, for Rs 10.75 crore.
9. Gujarat Lions Buy Lockie Ferguson
Overseas pacers attracted huge attention in the fourth round of the 2022 IPL auction as New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson was bought by Ahmedabad for Rs 10 crore.
Delhi and Bangalore too expressed their interest in the 30-year-old with some big bids but the new Ahmedabad-based franchise managed to bag his services.
10. Prasidh Krishna Joins Rajasthan
Prasidh Krishna, who was Player of the Series in the recently-concluded ODI series against West Indies, attracted attention from Lucknow, Hyderabad and later Gujarat. His price escalated quickly from the Rs 1 crore base price and he was ultimately snapped up by Rajasthan for Rs 10 crore.
11. Avesh Khan Breaks Uncapped Players' Record
Uncapped India pacer Avesh Khan joined the Rs 10 crore club and also became the most expensive uncapped player in IPL history.
Khan, who was phenomenal for Delhi in the 2021 season, got bids straightaway from Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants. When Chennai backed out, Mumbai Indians entered the fray and was in an intense battle with Lucknow.
Though Delhi Capitals and Hyderabad Sunrisers also stepped in, Lucknow Super Giants remained rock-solid to buy him for Rs 10 crore.
Krishnappa Gowtham at Rs 9.25 crore had been the highest paid uncapped player before this, when he was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
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