A total of Rs 140 crore was spent on 62 players in the 2020 IPL auction in Kolkata on Sunday, 15 December, and while there were big paydays for some big overseas names, India’s next-gen cricketers too turned crorepatis, with teams electing to invest in the youth.
Leading the way for the young brigade was the wonder kid from Mumbai, Yashasvi Jaiswal. He attracted a bid of Rs 2.4 crore, and not far behind was the current captain of the Indian U-19 squad – Priyam Garg – who also started off a bidding war between Punjab and Hyderabad.
Here’s a look at the young Indian cricketers who made the right noise at the auction table in Kolkata:
Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rajasthan Royals)
As expected, there was a fierce bidding war to acquire the services of the Mumbai batsman. Kolkata, Mumbai, Punjab tried their best, but it was Rajasthan who swooped him for Rs 2.40 crore.
“I think with Jaiswal and even Tyagi, they are players who we think can play a very important role for Royals over the next 4-5 years,” Rajasthan Royals co-owner Manoj Badale said.
Jaiswal, who once sold paani puri for a living, has already grabbed headlines with stunning performances in the domestic circuit.
Recently, he had become the youngest batsman to score a double century in first-class cricket in the Vijay Hazare trophy. He smashed 203 off 154 balls with 12 sixes and 17 boundaries. In the competition, he smashed 25 sixes in six games which explains the bidding war he attracted at the auction table in Kolkata on Thursday.
Ravi Bishnoi (Kings XI Punjab)
The leg-spinner from Rajasthan got 10 times his base price as Kings XI Punjab lapped him up for Rs 2 crore.
Decent with the bat lower down the order, Ravi is known for his googly and has picked up 12 wickets in seven matches at an economy rate of 4.37 in the youth ODIs.
Priyam Garg (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
The captain of the Indian U-19 side, which will be participating in the ICC U-19 World Cup in South Africa next year, as expected, made the right noises at the auction table.
On Thursday, several teams had joined in the bidding war for the youngster, but Sunrisers Hyderabad got him on board for Rs 1.9 crore.
Garg, had a stellar debut season for Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy scoring 814 runs in the domestic competition last year. He had also scored a fine half-century in the Duleep Trophy representing India Green.
In 12 first-class matches so far, Garg has 867 runs under his belt with two hundreds and two half-centuries to his name. He also has an impressive T20 record having scored 227 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 132.74 so far.
Virat Singh (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Rewarded for a great show in the domestic circuit, the Jharkhand batsman started a bidding war between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad before the Hyderabad outfit picked him up for Rs 1.9 crore.
In the ongoing season – Virat, living upto his namesake, scored 335 runs in the seven matches in the Vijay Hazare at an average of 83.75 and a strike rate of 100.60.
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Virat Also accounted for 343 runs in the 10 matches.
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